Shingetsu Incorporated
by InuyashaGirl2610
Summary: Shingetsu Inc. has been in the possession of the Taisho family for generations, but now an evil business tycoon has his eye on it, and is willing to do anything to get what he wants full summary inside InuKag, MiroSan, InukKouga
1. Prologue: Character and story info

Disclaimer for all chapters of _Shingetsu Incorporated_: I do not own any of the characters or the story line from _Inuyasha_, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do however take credit for Inukigo. She is my original character that I came up with for my fan fictions.

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Summary:

Shingetsu Inc., one of the top electronics industries in Japan, has been in the possession of the Taisho family for generations. Their ownership has never been challenged - until now. An evil business tycoon has his eyes set on the multibillion dollar company, and is willing to use any means to get it, however dirty they may be.

Kagome Higurashi, a new student to Shikon High, finds herself drawn into the middle of the power struggle, when she becomes involved with the youngest of the three Taisho siblings, Inuyasha.

Will they be able to put an end to the scheming of Onigumo and Naraku, or will more be lost then just Shingetsu Inc.?

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Character Profiles

Inuyasha Taisho

- Age, 16

- Height, 5'10"

- Birthday, October 24th

- Favourite colour, red

Kagome Higurashi

- Age, 16

- Height, 5'8"

- Birthday, November 30th

- Favourite colour, green

Inukigo Taisho

- Age, 22

- Height, 5'11"

- Birthday, July 25th

- Favourite colour, golden yellow

Sango Taijya

- Age, 18

- Height, 5'9"

- Birthday, April 7th

- Favourite colour, pink

Miroku Houshi

- Age, 19

- Height, 5'11"

- Birthday, September 28th

- Favourite colour, purple

Sesshoumaru Taisho

- Age, 28

- Height, 6'2"

- Birthday, February 1st

Kouga Ookami

- Age, 24

- Height, 6'1"

- Birthday, May 18th

- Favourite colour, blue

- I don't particularly like the following characters, or think enough of them to think up any detailed information for them, so all I did was the ages -

Onigumo Dokugai- Age, 40

Naraku Dokugai- Age, 18 (Onigumo's son)

Kikyou - Age, 17

- There will be more characters that I either haven't decided to use right now, or I have to come up with information for -

Okay, I'll do a little more explaining of stuff that I didn't mention in the summary, and wouldn't really come up within the story itself.

First, as you've probably noticed, Inuyasha and Inukigo are not twins in this fan fiction. Inukigo is actually about 5 years older than Inuyasha (when the story first begins, it's around the beginning of October). I did this because it goes with the plot of the story. It'll be explained in a few chapters, so I don't need to bother with that here.

I said in the summary that Shingetsu Inc. was an electronics company. Think Sony. Huge name that sells to both the general public as well as other companies. I won't be going into any serious detail as to the workings of the company itself, since I don't have much knowledge on how a large, international company works. I'll try, but don't expect

me to get everything right. Just know that the company is important to the story.

The characters that would normally be demon or half demon in the anime are still demon or half demon in this story (that includes Inukigo). Kagome is a miko, but unlike the anime/manga, she has been trained. Also, martial arts is practiced by a number of characters, including Kagome (sooo ooc, but I don't care. It's AU, and it's fun when she can kick ass like everyone else). This will be brought up later, but I felt that I should mention it now so people won't be going 'Huh!' when Kagome says that she's into martial arts.

Now, on with the story!


	2. Welcome

**Chapter 1: Welcome**

"Kagome!"

'_Is someone calling me?_'

"Kagome!"

'_What is that? Sounds like it's getting louder._'

"KAGOME!"

"AH!" Kagome cried as she jumped about a foot up off her bed.

With a hand against her heart, Kagome turned around to see her mother standing beside her bed with her hands on her hips and a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Kagome…I thought you were getting up twenty minutes ago. You turned the alarm off in your sleep again, didn't you?"

Kagome looked at her mother and laughed sheepishly.

"Eh…Hai, Mama…"

Mrs. Higurashi sighed at her daughter.

"The clock is going on the other side of the room before tomorrow so you have to get up to turn it off from now on."

"Yes, Mama. It won't happen again."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled.

"Alright, now start getting ready or you'll be late for your first day. I'll have breakfast ready when you come down."

She kissed Kagome on the cheek before leaving the room.

Now alone, Kagome sat up on her bed and looked around her room, or rather her new room. She had only been living in this house for a week, after all.

'_Why did grandpa have to get sick? I was perfectly happy where I was, now I have to start over in a new school, and in my senior year too!'_

She sighed as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. A small smile broke out on her face as she rested her chin on her hands.

'Well, I suppose it's not all bad…I finally got away from Hojou.'

With new determination Kagome stood up and walked to her closet to retrieve her school issued uniform and then her underclothes before going to her shower.

'_I just have to think positively. I can still have a great last year, even though I don't have any of my friends here with me. That just means I'll have to make new ones!_'

Walking to the bathroom, Kagome sported a bright smile that showed no signs of leaving her face.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Inuyasha!"

"Nooo…five more minutes…"

"I let you have five more minutes ten minutes ago. Get up!"

- Snore -

"Oh for the love of- Inuyasha, get up now!"

This time the order was punctuated with the violent ripping away of Inuyasha's sheets and blankets. The boy, clad only in his boxers, awoke with a start when his warm bed covers were torn away and he was hit with the cooler air in the room.

"Damn it, Inukigo! It's cold!"

"Tough shit. You're lucky I didn't send Tenshi up here," Inukigo replied, threatening him with the pair's large, white akita, "Now, hurry up and get ready, or I'll throw you in the shower myself. A very _cold _shower. Move it!"

"Alright! I'm going, I'm going," Inuyasha said as he got up and collected the pieces of his school uniform and clean boxers before he went to shower.

Inukigo smiled at him and ruffled his hair as she passed him on her way out the door.

"I'll have breakfast ready for you."

"Thanks, nee-chan."

"No problem," she replied as she walked down the hall.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha walked down the hall as well towards the bathroom. Ten minutes later he was finished with his shower and was towel-drying his waist length hair. He lifted his head and sniffed slightly, then nearly drooled from what he picked up.

"She's cooking bacon…"

Doubling his efforts, Inuyasha quickly finished drying his hair then pulled on his clothes. He deposited the used towels and his boxers in the clothes hamper on his way out the bathroom door and ran down the stairs. He sat down at the table just as Inukigo was laying down his plate, fork, and glass. He mumbled a quick 'itadakimasu' before he started eating. Inukigo shook her head and smiled seeing him enthusiastically dig through his bacon, eggs, and toast. (AN: Despite my interest in Japanese culture, I have no idea what a typical breakfast would be, so I just stuck with what I know).

"Glad you like it," she commented as she went to retrieve her own breakfast, as well as a plate with extra bacon and eggs.

Unable to speak because his mouth was full, Inuyasha gave her a thumbs up and continued eating. Inukigo sat down, then spoke again before beginning her meal.

"I might be late coming home today. I'll call to let you know if you have to make dinner."

Inuyasha swallowed his food before replying.

"You've been working late a lot lately. Something big going on?"

Inukigo nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of orange juice.

"Yeah. We've been working on a presentation for a big potential buyer, who is coming by the office today. Remember, I told you that I was in charge of this one?"

"Oh yeah, now I remember. Nervous?"

"A little," Inukigo admitted, "This is the first time that Sesshoumaru has put me in charge of something so big. I just don't want to mess it up."

"You'll do great, I'm sure of it. You're the best marketer that the company has," Inuyasha praised.

Inukigo blushed lightly and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Inuyasha said, shovelling more food onto his plate.

They both went back to eating, until Inukigo glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"You'd better pick up the pace, Inuyasha. You have to leave in fifteen minutes if you want to get to school on time."

She looked back to Inuyasha's seat at the table, only to see that he wasn't there anymore. She leaned over in her chair to look around the wall and just caught a glimpse of Inuyasha as he ran up the stairs to comb his hair, brush his teeth, and grab his things. Inukigo looked down and saw Tenshi looking back up at her. The dog snorted and shook her head, earning a laugh from Inukigo and few pieces of bacon. Inukigo collected the dishes from the table and brought them to the sink to wash them. She was just finishing when Inuyasha came back down over the stairs. Before he got to the front porch she called out to him.

"Got your keys?"

There was a pause, in which she pictured him patting his pockets looking for the questioned object.

"Yeah!"

"Money?"

Another pause.

"Yup!"

"School bag?"

Another pause…then Inuyasha's footsteps as he ran back up the stairs. Inukigo sighed as she put the dishes on the rack to dry, then dried her hands. She walked across the kitchen and was in the front hallway when Inuyasha came back down, this time with his bag slung over his shoulder. Inukigo was about to open her mouth to ask a question, but Inuyasha cut her off.

"Yes, I have everything in there. I checked," he said as he affectionately patted Tenshi on the head.

"Good," Inukigo replied, leaning against the wall as he walked by.

She watched as he put on his sneakers, then spoke again before he went out the door.

"Have a good day, otouto."

"You too, nee-chan. Good luck with your presentation."

Inukigo smiled and waved to him, then he was gone out the door. Turning around to go up the stairs and get ready herself, Inukigo cringed at the thought of what was waiting for her upstairs.

"Damn," she cursed, "I hate business suits."

* * *

The walk to school went by quickly, and Inuyasha found himself on the grounds of Shikon High with ten minutes to spare before his homeroom started. He walked through the school doors, then went in the direction of his locker, waving and nodding acknowledgement to those who greeted him as he passed. He turned a corner, and was about to keep walking, but then he saw _her _standing in front of his locker waiting for him. He turned and was about to make a quick get away, but it seemed that he was too late.

"Inuyasha!"

He sighed and his shoulders dropped. There was no point in running, she'd only be after him for the entire day. He sighed again when he felt a weight latch onto his arm.

It was around this time that Kagome came walking by this particular corridor. She had just stopped by the office to pick up her schedule, but now she was totally lost as she searched for her homeroom. She looked up the hallway, and the first thing that caught her eye was a very good looking boy with long, waist length silver hair, and dog ears perched atop his head.

'_Hanyou?_' she thought as she looked at him, '_A very handsome hanyou at that. I wonder if he could help me find my homeroom._'

She was about to walk towards him, but at that moment, he turned slightly, and Kagome caught sight of the girl hanging off his arm.

'_Damn, he's taken. Oh well, I'll just have to find someone else, I guess,_' and she turned and began walking away.

"Inuyasha, I tried to call you all weekend, but I couldn't get through…"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"There's a reason for that. I finally got around to blocking your phone number this weekend, Kikyou."

The black haired girl glared up at him.

"What kind of boyfriend does something like that to his girlfriend."

Inuyasha sighed again. Would this girl ever leave him alone?

"Kikyou, I'm not your boyfriend, and you're not my girlfriend. We haven't been going out since school started. I broke up with you, remember?"

Kikyou looked like she was going to start crying, but Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. This girl had been with him for almost a year, you think she would have figured out that he could tell when she was faking by now.

"But, Inuyasha, those things that I said back then, I didn't really mean them…"

Inuyasha glared down at her, already fed up with the girl.

"Cut the crap Kikyou. I believe your exact words were 'I don't know how I tolerate him sometimes, but it will be worth it when he turns eighteen and his trust fund opens up.' I don't see how I could misunderstand that."

Kikyou went on trying to defend herself, but right after she started talking, Inuyasha's attention had been diverted elsewhere. A scent, very faint, but very enticing, drifted to his nose. Sniffing tentatively, he found that he couldn't place the scent, but he wanted very much to know who it was coming from. Without hesitation he pulled Kikyou off his arm, and began quickly walking down the hallway. He heard Kikyou's protests from behind him and called out over his shoulder.

"Shut up Kikyou. Why don't you go find Naraku to keep you company? He did a good job of that while we were together, didn't he?"

He knew Kikyou was fuming, but he didn't care. All he was focused on right now was that scent that had tickled his senses. It was getting stronger, and when he turned the next corner he saw her. She was standing in the middle of the corridor, looking back and forth, then down at a piece of paper in her hand.

'_Wow._'

Inuyasha was sure that he had never seen a prettier girl. Her hair fell softly down to the middle of her back, and was such a rich colour black that it appeared blue with the light hit it a certain way. He also took note of her trim, curvy figure, and how good her legs looked in her barely-knee-length plaid skirt. Watching her closely, Inuyasha noticed that she looked a little distressed. She was glaring down at the paper in her hand, and he realized what her problem must be.

'_She's lost._'

Smiling to himself, he decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to go over and talk to her. He made his way over, and when he was right behind her he tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said, then continued when she turned to look at him, "I'm guessing that you're new, 'cause you look like you're lost."

Kagome took a moment to find her voice. The hot guy that she had just been eyeing a few minutes ago was now standing right in front of her and talking to her!

"Yeah…I'm that obvious, huh?" she laughed nervously.

'_Could he have seen me and followed me? No way, get a grip Kagome. You saw that girl hanging off of him. He must have been on his way to his homeroom and had to come this way. Yeah that's it._'

"Want me to lend you a hand?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

'_Oh my god, he's so cute!_'

"That would be great. I wouldn't want to be a bother to you though…"

Inuyasha waved his hand in front of his face, cutting her off.

"Don't worry about it. Here, let me see you're schedule," he said, holding out his hand.

Kagome handed him the piece of paper, and as Inuyasha looked it over he smiled.

'_Too perfect._'

"You have the same schedule as me," he commented, "Same homeroom too. C'mon, it's this way," he said, turning around to go back the direction that he came from.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock.

'_He wasn't on his way to homeroom? Did he really follow after me?_'

"So, what's your name?" she heard him ask a moment later.

"Oh, Higurashi, Kagome. What's yours?"

"Taisho, Inuyasha," he replied, extending his hand to her.

She took it, then began thinking out loud.

"Taisho…I've heard that somewhere before."

Inuyasha chuckled and released her hand.

"I'm not surprised. Anyone who has heard of Shingetsu Inc. knows the Taisho name."

Kagome's eyes widened.

"You're really a part of the family that owns that company?"

Inuyasha smiled at her, but inside he was growing uneasy.

'_This girl seems nice. Please don't let her be like the others._'

"Yup."

"Wow, I've never met a famous person before," she stopped and bowed slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. This was unexpected. Usually when girls found out who he was they tried to hang all over him. But this girl was being polite. Inuyasha smiled.

'_This girl is definitely different._'

"You don't need to do that," he said, getting her to stand upright again, "Only my brother expects that from people. Besides, we're here."

They entered the classroom to find the teacher already sitting at his desk, waiting for the bell to ring. Inuyasha walked up with Kagome behind him, and explained to the teacher who she was, then offered to show her around the school for a week since they conveniently had the same schedules. The teacher agreed and let Inuyasha go to his seat, then when the bell rang had Kagome introduce herself to the class. For the rest of the day, Inuyasha showed her around the school and answered any questions that she had about the classes and teachers. She had also managed to ask him conversationally about his 'girlfriend' who she had seen hanging off him that morning. Inuyasha had looked at her funny at first, then bust out laughing. When she asked what was so funny, he explained how the girl was not his girlfriend, but an ex-girlfriend who refused to take a hike.

That afternoon, when Kagome was walking home, she had a bright smile on her face.

'_Maybe starting over in this school won't be so bad after all._'

* * *

Well here's chapter 1. It's a lot shorter than the chapters of my other fan fiction (All Things Come Full Circle, if you haven't read it), but I'm hoping they'll get a little longer as the story develops. I'm gonna be updating this one once every week, so chapter 2 will be out next Sunday (that's august 21st). Hope you all look forward to it. If you have any questions about the story that weren't answered in the prologue, feel free to ask and I'll answer them (so long as the answer won't give away much of the story line). 


	3. Good Days, Bad Days

I know that I said that this would be up on Sunday, but something came up. Sorry for the delay everyone.

Okay, after posting the first chapter, I realize that I kinda jumped into it a bit to quickly (sorry to anyone who was confused). Let's see if I can explain a little bit better.

Inukigo is an original character from my first fics, Long Awaited Reunion and its sequel, All Things Come Full Circle. In these fics she is Inuyasha's twin sister, but in Shigetsu Incorporated, I made her five years older because it fits better with the story. I needed someone to pair her with, so I paired her up with Kouga instead of making another original character just for her (and I felt bad about leaving Kouga all alone. I don't really like Ayame, so it was a good opportunity).

Tenshi was something I came up with at the last minute. She is Inuyasha and Inukigo's dog, an Akita to be exact. They're a breed native to Japan, and if you like you can look it up on the internet. The name means 'Angel', the only reason I can think of that made me pick that was in honour of my cat (her name was Angel).

I think that might clear everything up, if it doesn't then let me know. I only got 2 reviews, but that's okay since it's a new story. Thanks to the people that did, I always appreciate it.

* * *

Chapter 2: Good Days, Bad Days

Inuyasha sighed happily as he walked through the front door of his house. Today had been the best day he had had in a while. Kagome was a great person to be around and talk to, and it seemed that her presence had kept Kikyou, as well as a few of the other girls that refused to leave him alone, at a distance.

He smiled as he kicked off his sneakers and made his way upstairs to change out of his uniform. He had been surprised when she asked him at lunch why he wasn't sitting with his girlfriend, who she had seen attached to him in the morning. After an understandable fit of laughter, he had corrected her, and he hoped that he hadn't imagined the look of interest that had crossed her face afterwards.

His thoughts were still on the new girl as he took off his school uniform and pulled on a loose t-shirt and baggy jeans. He left his bag in his room as he went back downstairs, since he had luckily been able to finish all of his work in class today so he didn't have any homework. He was joined by Tenshi when he reached the bottom of the stairs, then walked to the living room, and wasn't surprised to see the flashing red light on the answering machine displaying that there was a new message. He played the message, and frowned when he heard the time of recording.

'_She must have been pretty busy if she knew by her lunch hour that she would be working late._'

'Hey, Inuyasha. Looks like I'm gonna be late for sure today. Things are crazy here, I'm calling now because I don't think I'll get a chance later. Anyway, the earliest I'll be home will be around six, so go ahead and make dinner, okay? There's some chicken in the fridge, it should have thawed by now, so why don't you make some stir-fry or something? I gotta go, I'll see you later, otouto.'

(A/N: Yes, Inuyasha can cook, lol. I know it's really ooc, but I think it's pretty neat (who doesn't want a guy that can cook? lol). It'll be explained later)

Inuyasha sighed and looked at the clock in the kitchen. Only 3:45, that meant he had plenty of time to laze around before he had to start on dinner. Plopping down on the couch in the living room with Tenshi taking a seat beside him, he turned on the TV and sat back to watch for awhile. Around 4:30, the phone rang. Inuyasha got up to answer it, checking the caller ID before picking up the phone. Recognizing the number, he spoke into the receiver.

"Hey, Kouga."

"Hey, Yash. What's up, inukuro?"

"Don't call me that," Inuyasha grumbled into the phone, followed by something that sounded like 'baka ookami'.

Kouga laughed at him and asked how he was doing. After a few minutes of chatting, Kouga got to his reason for calling.

"So, is your sister there?"

"Nope. Sorry, Kouga, she's working late again."

"Again?" Kouga said, then realization struck him, "Oh wait, she had that big proposal today didn't she?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied, "She was nervous about it this morning before I left. I'm wondering how she did."

"She's been really worked up over it for a few weeks now," Kouga said, "Well, I gotta go Inuyasha. Tell her to give me a call when she comes home?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks. See ya later!"

"Ja ne."

After hanging up, Inuyasha went back to watching TV for an half hour, then decided to get up and get things together for dinner. He started at 5:30, quickly cutting the chicken into small pieces, slipping Tenshi an occasional piece, then threw them into a pan to fry. He seasoned it the way he knew that Inukigo liked, then added fresh vegetables and left it to simmer on the stove. He then pulled out a pot, measured out water, and set it on the stove to boil. When it was ready, he added white rice and left that to cook as well.

By 6:15 the meal was ready, but Inukigo hadn't come home yet. Inuyasha decided to wait for her for a little while, but when 6:30 came around and she still wasn't home he began eating by himself. He finished his meal and gave Tenshi hers, then cleared away his dishes, but Inukigo still hadn't appeared. It was nearly seven when he heard Inukigo's car roll up the driveway and park in front of the house. Walking towards the front hallway to greet her, he heard her open the door, then kick off her shoes rather roughly. That should have been his first clue that something was wrong.

"Hey, Inukigo. How did your…presentation…go…?" he asked slowly when he finally saw her.

If looks could kill, he would probably have been dead ten times over.

"Nee-chan?" he asked, slightly worried.

She walked towards him, stopping when she was standing at his side. Inuyasha watched her carefully.

"We didn't get it," she said quietly. Inuyasha could see her gripping the handle of her briefcase hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

"What?"

"The potential client, didn't take the proposal."

Inuyasha could see that she was very upset, and quickly led her to the living room and sat her down in a chair before she started breaking things. Inukigo sighed and Inuyasha knelt down in front of her, waiting for her to explain. Tenshi appeared at Inukigo's side and rested her head on the arm of the chair.

"We spent almost the whole day going over the presentation, making sure that there wouldn't be any possible room for mistakes. We had everything set up for when the company reps were supposed to show up at four. They were late. I presented the proposal to them, answered all their questions. It went off without a hitch."

"Then what went wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

"When we were finished, they got up and said they were sorry, but they had chosen a different company to do the job for them," she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and her head rested in her hands, "Damn it, I'm so frustrated."

"Hey, it's okay," Inuyasha said, reaching up to rub her back, "There will be plenty of other buyers. Losing one is no big deal."

Inukigo shook her head, digging the heels of her palms against her eyes.

"But this was my job. My first big job and I messed it up. The company has never lost a job this big before. I'm such a screw up."

"Hey, no you're not," Inuyasha said, pulling her hands away from her eyes so he could look at her, "They had probably made up their minds and signed a deal before they even came to the meeting today. There was nothing you could do about it."

"If they had already signed a contract, then why did they listen to my proposal? They could have just said that they weren't going to consider us when they walked in," Inukigo accused.

'_Crap…good point._'

"Who knows. Maybe they just wanted to see what they would be missing out on. There was nothing you could do about it, Inukigo."

"I could have done something different, made them reconsider it…"

"Inukigo, if they had made up their minds, there was nothing to be done about it. Nothing would have changed that."

Inukigo didn't speak anymore after that, and Inuyasha looked up at her sadly. He could tell from her eyes that she was nearly crying from her frustration. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms across her legs and looked up at her.

"You look like you could really beat the shit out of something. That or spend the rest of the night relaxing. Or do you want to eat first? The stir-fry was good."

Inukigo smiled at her younger brother's attempts to cheer her up.

"I'm not really hungry right now, I'll have some a little later though. Beating the shit out of something sounds really good right now, but I'm too tired."

"Relaxing it is then," Inuyasha deduced, "You stay here and I'll go up and run a hot bath for you. Don't move," he said, standing up.

Remembering Kouga's call, he walked over and retrieved the cordless phone from its cradle, then came back and held it out in front of Inukigo's face. She looked up at him with confusion.

"Kouga called earlier," he explained, "He wanted you to call him back when you got home. You talk to him while I get your bath ready."

Inukigo nodded and took the phone from him, then punched in her boyfriend's phone number as Inuyasha walked away. It rang twice before Kouga's voice came across the line.

"Hey, Inukigo," he said as soon as he picked up, and Inukigo could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hi Kouga," she replied, a little cheered up by his voice, but not enough for Kouga not to notice.

"So…did the proposal go well?" he asked curiously, though the tone in her voice was giving her away.

"No, it didn't go so great."

"What? What happened?"

"We didn't get it," she sighed dejectedly.

"Are you okay?" Kouga asked, the concern clear in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Inukigo replied, but for some reason she sensed a battle coming on.

"Are you sure?"

Ah…so she was right.

"Yes, I'm sure," she sighed while rolling her eyes. She knew where this was going.

"I'm going to come over," Kouga declared.

"No, you don't-" Inukigo started to say, but was cut off.

"I'm on my way out the door now."

"Kouga," Inukigo said sternly, "You don't have to come over."

"I just want to make sure you're okay," Kouga said, and Inukigo could picture him pouting.

"I said I was fine."

"I know, but-"

"I'm just going to go take a bath and get something to eat before I go to bed, you don't have to come over."

"But I want to."

Inukigo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Kouga, please don't argue with me right now."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Inukigo knew that she had won.

"Are you really sure that you're okay?"

Inukigo smiled. His concern was so endearing.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. But call me if you need me, alright?"

"Alright," Inukigo agreed, "Aishiteru."

"I love you too. Ja ne."

"Bye."

"Is he coming over?"

Inukigo turned to look over the back of the chair and saw Inuyasha standing in the doorway of the living room.

"No. He wanted to, but I convinced him not to."

"Okay then. Go on, I've got your bath ready for you."

Inukigo stood up and stretched before walking towards Inuyasha. She smiled at him as she walked by.

"Thanks, Inuyasha," she said, then tugged on the hem of her skirt as she walked, "Damn, I hate these things."

Inuyasha laughed at her.

"Then why don't you wear a pants suit?"

"Kouga said my legs look hot in a skirt," Inukigo explained as she went to walk up the stairs.

"Okay,I didn't need to know that!" Inuyasha shouted behind her.

Inukigo laughed as she ascended the stairs, then went to her room first to pick out clothes to wear after her bath, and decided to grab a tank top and a pair of jogging pants. She then walked back to the bathroom and as soon as she opened the door she was assaulted by the smell of strawberries. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, then went to the second door in the bathroom, which led to the tub and shower. Looking down at the bubble filled tub, Inukigo smiled.

'_He even got out my favourite bubble bath for me._'

Stripping off her dreaded business suit and underclothes and tossing them on the floor of the main bathroom before closing the second door, Inukigo slid down slowly into the hot water. She hissed in pleasure as her body adjusted to the temperature of the water and moaned when it soothed away the aching in her muscles. Sighing and leaning against the back of the tub, Inukigo settled down for a nice, long soak.

Downstairs, Inuyasha was sitting on the couch in the living room watching TV, but it seemed as though he was waiting for something. Ten minutes later that something came walking in the door.

"Hey, Kouga," he called when the wolf youkai came into sight.

Kouga waved and came to join Inuyasha in the living room.

"Inukigo said that you weren't coming, but I figured that you would be anyway."

"Yeah," Kouga admitted, sitting down on the couch with Inuyasha, "I told her that I wasn't going to come over so she'd stop arguing with me. I wanted to see for myself that she was okay. That presentation was really important to her. So, where is she?"

"She's up taking a bath right now," Inuyasha replied, "She was pretty upset. It wouldn't have affected her so much if the clients had come in and said that they weren't going to go with Shingetsu from the beginning. But they let her go on with her presentation as if they were going to consider it. Those bastards made her feel like it was her fault the job fell through."

"Who was it that ended up getting the deal?" Kouga asked.

"I don't know. Inukigo never said who it was, and I wasn't about to ask her. When she walked through the door she looked like she was ready to put a hole in the wall. I don't even want to think about what the training room downstairs would look like if I had let her loose down there instead of trying to calm her down."

"That bad?" Kouga asked.

"Yeah, she gets pretty scary when she's mad. You had better watch it, she might not be too happy that you're here when she told you not to come."

Kouga gulped and ran a hand through his hair. He hoped that his girlfriend wouldn't be too pissed off at him for lying to her. After about twenty minutes of chatting, Kouga decided that he would go upstairs and wait for Inukigo, since she would most likely go back to her room before coming downstairs.

"You're pushing your luck," Inuyasha warned, "She might not appreciate you surprising her like that."

"I can handle her," Kouga replied, though he silently added an 'I hope so'.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, then down the hall past the bathroom door and towards Inukigo's room. Going through the open doorway, he walked across the room and sat down on the golden yellow comforter of Inukigo's bed. He sighed and stretched out, his head on the pillow and his arms resting over his stomach. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him. The first thing he heard made him smile. The bathroom was next to Inukigo's, and he could hear her humming happily in her bath. He had always thought she had a wonderful voice, and had told her so, but she didn't believe him. As a result he had never heard her sing, just caught bits and pieces of her humming some tune that he had never heard before. He relaxed back into her pillow and contented himself with listening to her soft voice through the wall.

Kouga was about to drift off when she stopped and he heard her getting out of the tub and letting out the water. He guessed that he had ten minutes to prepare himself before she entered the room. He sat up on the bed and took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn't be too angry with him. He opened his eyes at the startled gasp that came from the doorway. Inukigo was standing there with one hand on the door frame and the other over her heart. Kouga's breath hitched in his throat. The jogging pants she was wearing were slung very low on her hips, showing a lot of her flat, toned stomach. Not only that, but her tank top was very tight and she-wasn't-wearing-a-bra. He almost drooled and had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open.

"Kouga, why are you here? I told you that you didn't need to come over," she said, sitting on the stool in front of her vanity and pulling her hair down from the bun that had been neatly confining it for the whole day.

Kouga watched as it tumbled down her back and stopped just short of the floor. He idly wondered how she had managed to get all that hair up into a bun as he stood up and walked over to stand behind her. She was reaching for her hairbrush, but Kouga got to it first and began gliding the brush through her hair, being careful of the sensitive dog ears on top of her head. Inukigo was about to protest, but after a few strokes of the brush she was content to let him continue for as long as he wanted.

"I was worried about you," he said softly, "I wanted to come over and make sure you were okay. You're glad that I came, right?"

Inukigo closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"I'm alright. Just…disappointed…I guess."

Kouga nodded and kept brushing her hair as she talked.

"It's just…we all worked so hard on that proposal, and for them to throw it back at us like that…"

"Then it's there loss," Kouga interjected, "If they're getting some other company to do the work for them, then that's their mistake. Who was it that got the deal anyway?"

He felt Inukigo stiffen on the stool and instantly regretted asking.

"Dokugai," she hissed out, "He's been doing it more and more lately. At first it was just a few smaller jobs that weren't really of any significance, but he's been moving up. This was the biggest one yet."

Kouga felt her tense up and moved quickly to keep her from growing angry. Shifting her hair over her shoulder and out of the way, he moved closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulders and began kneading them gently. Inukigo immediately slumped towards him and moaned. Kouga smirked.

"Don't think about that right now, okay?"

Inukigo's mind shut off when Kouga's hands started rubbing her shoulder blades and she was all too happy to agree with him. His hands travelled lower to the bare skin of her back and waist as he moved forward to kiss and sniff her neck. Inukigo moaned softly at the feeling of his mouth on her.

"Mmmm…you smell good, baby."

Inukigo shivered from his breath on her neck.

"Kouga…"

Her voice cut off when he nipped at her neck, then lapped over the tiny bite with his tongue.

"Tastes good too."

Inukigo tilted her head to the side to give him more access, and she opened her eyes for a moment, then forced herself to keep them open as she watched Kouga lavishing attention upon her neck in the mirror. Kouga glanced up at the mirror as well, and his eyes stayed locked on hers as he continued kiss and nip at her neck and shoulder. He kept his eyes trained to hers and slowly began to slide his hands around and up her stomach. He then slid them back down again, grazing her lightly with his claws. Inukigo shivered violently, and before Kouga knew what happened, she had turned and pounced on him, knocking him to the floor.

Downstairs in the living room, which happened to be directly under Inukigo's bedroom, Inuyasha heard the loud thump on the floor above him. Looking up at the ceiling curiously, Inuyasha wondered what had happened.

'_She didn't knock him out, or kill him or something, did she?_'

Deciding that he should go check, and save Kouga if necessary, Inuyasha walked towards the stairs. As soon as he entered the upstairs hallway he snorted and almost sneezed.

'_I think I used too much bubble bath. Can't smell anything but strawberries up here._'

Rounding the corner, he approached Inukigo's open doorway.

"Hey, Inukigo? What's going on up here? I heard a- WHOA!"

Inuyasha whipped back around as fast as he could, covering his eyes as though the action would erase the scene he had just witnessed from his memory.

Inukigo and Kouga just laid there, staring at his back. At the exact moment Inuyasha had walked into the room, Inukigo had been sitting on Kouga's stomach with her hands on his chest, and one of Kouga's hands was up the front of Inukigo's tank top while the other rested on the curve of her backside. And seeing as how they seemed to be frozen in shock, they were still in that position.

"For the love of all things sacred, get a room will you!"

Breaking out of his stupor, Kouga removed his hands and sat up with Inukigo still on top of him.

"We _are _in a room, moron!"

"Well then close the damn door! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go gouge out my eyes!"

"C'mon Inuyasha, it wasn't that bad," Inukigo said, standing up.

"They burn!"

Inukigo sighed and looked down at her boyfriend.

"Now look what we did. We traumatized him. This is all your fault," she said, pointing her finger at him.

Kouga sputtered.

"My fault! You were the one that pounced on me, woman!"

"Yeah, but you were the one that started it!"

"I didn't hear you complaining about it!"

"Will the two of you shut the fuck up! I would rather forget that this ever happened!"

Inukigo walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha," she said dramatically, in a fake upset voice, "I'm such a horrible sister. Can you ever forgive me?"

She was looking at him with her perfected puppy dog face, made all the more effective when her ears drooped. Inuyasha sighed. That look was unbeatable, and he knew it. She had taught it to him, after all.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied nonchalantly, crossing his arms.

"Good," Inukigo chirped, "C'mon, I'm hungry and want some of that stir-fry now," she said, dragging him off.

Kouga sat there on the floor for a moment, then shook his head. His girlfriend could be so weird sometimes. Shrugging his shoulders, he hopped up and went to follow the hanyou siblings downstairs.

After Inukigo was sitting on the couch, a plate with stir-fry on white rice in her hand, the three companions began chatting idly.

"Mmm…this is so good…I have taught you well my brother. You're going to make a girl very happy someday," Inukigo said in between mouthfuls. She ignored the blush that spread across Inuyasha's face from her praise, "So, how was your day, Inuyasha? I didn't get to ask earlier."

Inuyasha smiled remembering his day, or more specifically the girl that he had met that day.

"Actually, my day was pretty good. I thought it was gonna suck at first," he nose scrunched up at the memory, "Kikyou jumped me as soon as I stepped foot in the school."

"That girl is still bothering you?" Kouga asked, his arms stretched across the back of the couch, "Didn't you break up with her a month ago?"

"Yeah, but she still won't leave me alone," Inuyasha replied with a sigh.

Inukigo frowned.

"I'm seriously considering getting a restraining order against that girl. I don't like that she's hanging around you like some stalker."

"Nah, it's okay. I can handle her, it's just really annoying."

"If you say so," Inukigo replied, taking another bite of her meal, "So, what made today a good day then, hm?"

"Well," Inuyasha replied smiling up at the ceiling, "There's this new girl at school…"

Inukigo's ears instantly perked up.

"A girl?" she asked, leaning over to place her empty plate on the coffee table, "And you seem happy. This is different. Usually you complain that girls at school are bothering you."

"She's different," he said, looking at his sister.

"Well, you sound interested," Kouga said, leaning in as well, "So, what's this girl's name?"

"Higurashi, Kagome."

"Higurashi…" Inukigo pondered out loud, "Isn't there a Higurashi shrine a few blocks from here? I wonder if there's a connection."

Inuyasha nodded.

"She said that she moved there with her mother and little brother a week ago. Her grandfather can't run the shrine on his own anymore so they moved in to help take it over."

"You've only known her for a day, and you already know where she lives, bravo," Kouga complimented, "So, what else did you find out about her?"

"Umm…Her birthday is November 30th, her favourite food is oden, and her favourite colour it green. Oh, and she has a cat named Buyo."

"Wow, you work fast. It took me about a month to figure out those things about Inukigo," Kouga said offhandedly, earning him a punch in the side from his girlfriend.

"Hey! That hurt!" he pouted, holding his side. Having a girlfriend almost as strong as you seemed to have it's disadvantages.

"Oh, shut up, you big baby," she said, then turned to her brother, "This Kagome girl, is she nice?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied with a nod and a far off look on his face.

Inukigo smirked.

"Is she pretty?"

"Yea-Hey!" Inuyasha cried, glaring at his sister and her boyfriend, who were now both laughing at him. An embarrassed blush spread across his face and he turned away with a 'humph'.

"Now, Inuyasha, there's nothing wrong with admitting a girl is pretty," Inukigo chided, though she was still smiling in amusement. When he didn't turn back around she had to bite the inside of her cheek from laughing, and elbowed Kouga in the side to keep him from doing the same.

"So, you gonna ask her out?" Kouga teased, knowing what Inuyasha's reaction would be.

As predicted, the hanyou teen turned around, his face very close to matching his red t-shirt.

"N-no! I've only known her for a day, you idiot!"

"But you seem to have gotten to know her pretty well in such a short time," Inukigo commented, playing along with her boyfriend, "Why not ask her out?"

"The only reason I found out that stuff was because I hung out with her for the whole day," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Oh?" Inukigo said. This was getting more interesting all the time.

"I offered to show her around for the week, because we have the same schedule," Inuyasha said, turning away.

"You _offered_? Really?" Inukigo asked, genuinely interested.

"You sound like you're surprised," Inuyasha mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, I am, to tell you the truth," she said, leaning back against the loveseat, "It's not like you to offer to do something for a total stranger. This girl must really be something,"

Inuyasha didn't answer.

"So, when do I get to meet her," Inukigo asked, causing Inuyasha to look at her again.

"I've only known her for a day, and you expect me to invite her over? What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Kagome, want to come over? My sister wants to meet you.' That sounds really great," he said sarcastically.

Inukigo sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean right away Inuyasha," she said in a tolerant tone, "You have all the same classes right? Invite her over to do homework, or partner up with her for projects so you can come here to work on them. You need to have a reasonable excuse you know."

Inuyasha just stared at his sister for a few seconds before answering.

"You're evil, you know that?"

Inukigo smirked and Kouga nodded in agreement.

"I've known it ever since I started dating her."

This earned him a smack across the back of his head.

Inuyasha sighed and shook his head.

"Dumbass."

* * *

"Kagome, you never told me how your first day went."

Kagome looked over at her mother, then back down at the dish she was drying and smiled.

"It actually went really well. A lot better than I expected when I got there this morning."

"Oh? What was it this morning that convinced you that you would have a bad day?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, handing her daughter the last dish and letting the water out of the sink.

"Well, when I picked up my schedule this morning, I couldn't find my homeroom. I was completely lost, and I was sure that I was going to be late. But then this really nice boy came up to me and offered to take me to homeroom. He offered to show me around the school for a week too, because he has the same schedule as me."

"Well, you're right, he certainly does sound nice. What is his name."

Kagome was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You won't believe this Mama! His name is Taisho, Inuyasha," she exclaimed with a giggle.

"Taisho? The same Taisho's that own Shingetsu Incorporated?" at Kagome's excited nod Mrs. Higurashi let out a breath, "Well, that certainly is a surprise. I would never have thought that someone of that family would be attending a public school."

Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I asked him about it, he said that he went to a private school when he was younger, but he hated it so his parents put him in public school. I really can't believe it Mama. He can be a little blunt and rude, but he is really nice. And he has the most adorable dog ears…"

"Dog ears?" Mama questioned, "Oh yes, the two younger Taisho siblings are half demons," she then smiled slyly, "You sound as though you're very taken with him Kagome," she commented, "Does he have a girlfriend?"

Kagome blushed at her mother's observations.

"No he doesn't," she answered, "I thought that he did when I first saw him this morning. There was this girl attached to his arm like a leech. I mentioned it to him, and he said that she was his ex-girlfriend and that she wouldn't leave him alone. I feel sorry for the poor guy."

"The poor dear," Mrs. Higurashi said, "You should invite him over sometime."

Kagome stopped what she was doing and sputtered.

"M-Mama! I've barely known him for a day and you already want me bringing him over? I can't just tell him that my mother wants to meet him, he'll think I'm crazy!"

Mrs. Higurashi laughed at her daughter's outburst.

"Now, now dear. Calm down. I didn't mean right away. Invite him over to do homework or work on projects. You can work your way up to asking him over for dinner later," she said with a wink.

Kagome just stared at her mother with a deep red blush on her face.

"When did you get so conniving?"

Mrs. Higurashi laughed.

"Oh, dear, I used to do that all the time to get your father over before we started dating."

Kagome looked at her mother in shock.

"R-really?"

Mrs. Higurashi nodded with a smile on her face.

"I never expected something like that from you Mama."

"Well, I'm full of surprises," she said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'll say," Kagome said to herself, "Well, I'm going to take a bath. Luckily I don't have any homework tonight. Inuyasha helped me finish everything at school."

At the thought of the dog-eared boy, Kagome giggled and began walking for the stairs. She couldn't wait to see him again, and hoped that tomorrow would turn out to be just as great as today.


	4. Back Off

Chapter 3: Back Off

The week went by quickly, and soon it was Friday. Inuyasha was very happy on this day. He and Kagome had become very good friends in such a short time, and now he had an excuse to ask her over to his house.

Tonight, his two best friends, Miroku and Sango, were coming over for a movie night with himself, Inukigo, and Kouga. Sango had graduated last year, and Miroku the year before that, so with school going on, Inuyasha didn't get to spend to much time with them. He spoke to them often though, and both were very eager to meet Kagome.

Inuyasha was determined to invite her over tonight. He wasn't sure what it was about Kagome, but whenever he thought about asking her anything that sounded like he was interested in her, he got all nervous. This confused him. Although he had to admit, Kagome was different from other girls that he had met. She didn't throw herself at him, so without the reason to push her off, he wasn't really sure what to do.

'_I thought Kikyou was different too. She never threw herself on me like that, not at first anyway._'

At the thought of his ex-girlfriend, the teen frowned. When he had first started going out with Kikyou, she hadn't seemed to care about who he was. When they were alone together, she acted like he was just an average guy. But they had never really acted like a couple in private. They had kissed at times, but Kikyou was content to just sit there next to him, and only speak when he spoke to her. He had ignored it, thinking that Kikyou just wasn't the kind of person who liked being all touchy-feely. But when they were in public together, she did a complete turn-around. She would always be hanging off his arm, smiling and talking to him and whoever happened to be around at the time. It had taken him a very long time to realize what she was doing, and he hadn't been happy when he learned the truth.

She had never really felt anything for him, then had fun showing off whenever they went out. Inuyasha had felt very stupid for not figuring it out sooner. It had finally come out in late August. About a month earlier, Inuyasha had commented on how he had to save up his allowance so he could buy something that he wanted. Kikyou had curiously asked why he needed to save up his money when he had all that his parents had left him when they died.

-----

"I don't just have all that money at my fingertips. I have to be eighteen before I can even access it. The only reason I have money is because Inukigo gives me an allowance once a week for doing chores around the house."

-----

He remembered the look that had crossed her face after that. She had looked totally shocked for a spilt second but covered it up quickly and changed the subject. He hadn't thought anything of it. Not until a month later when he had been walking down the sidewalk, and just happened to come upon Kikyou and one of her friends, waiting at the corner for a bus. He was about to walk up to them, when he heard the topic of their conversation.

-----

"So, you're meeting Naraku once we get to the mall Kikyou?"

"Yeah," Kikyou replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "He said that he wanted to buy something nice for me. No way am I passing it up."

The girl giggled.

"So…what's it like having two rich guys at your fingertips? Huh?"

Kikyou sighed.

"It's more like one rich guy. Would you believe it! Inuyasha doesn't have access to any of the money his parents left him until he turns eighteen! I was totally shocked."

"Really? Aw, that really sucks. Guess that's why you started going out with Naraku a few weeks ago huh?"

"Of course," Kikyou replied, then she smirked, "It's not just his money either. He's much more…fun…than Inuyasha, if you catch my drift."

Both girls started laughing at that.

"Seriously though, I don't know how I tolerate him sometimes. But it will be worth it when he turns eighteen and his trust fund opens up."

-----

"Yo! Earth to Inuyasha…!"

Inuyasha's head snapped up at his name being called, and saw an amused Kagome waving her hand in front of his face. He had totally spaced out and hadn't even noticed her standing there.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking, I didn't realize you were there."

Kagome dropped her hand and looked up at him curiously.

"You okay?" the concern for him evident in her voice.

Inuyasha smiled. Kikyou had never been concerned for him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied then looked up at the clock on the wall, "C'mon, or we'll be late for homeroom."

Kagome smiled and nodded, then followed him to their class.

A few hours later it was lunch hour, and Inuyasha and Kagome were talking as they made their way to their usual seat in the cafeteria, Inuyasha carrying a tray while Kagome had brought her own lunch. They were about to sit down when Inuyasha realized that he was missing something.

"I'll be right back, I forgot to get a drink."

Kagome nodded and sat down while Inuyasha went back to the line up. She was about to pull the bento box out of the paper bag she had been carrying, when she felt someone with a very pissed off aura coming towards her. She froze and remained facing forward, not looking back to see who was approaching. A moment later, two hands dropped roughly onto the table to her side, and the person who they belonged to leaned down level with Kagome.

"Higurashi…"

"Can I help you," Kagome asked, recognizing the girl before her, "Kikyou?"

The girl glared down at Kagome, her anger very apparent.

"Listen, Higurashi. I don't know who you think you are, after being here for only a week. Inuyasha is mine. I'm warning you to stay away from him."

Kagome glared back at the girl, but kept her anger and annoyance in check.

"You're warning me? As I understand it, you have no claim to Inuyasha, he broke up with you a month ago. You have no right to talk to me as though you have a say in my actions. I consider Inuyasha my friend, and no idle threat from a jealous, obsessive ex is going to change that, so you can just back off."

Kagome watched as the expression on Kikyou's face turned to pure rage.

"I assure you, this is no idle threat," Kikyou seethed, "I own this school. I have a say in everything. Stay away from Inuyasha, or I'll have you shunned by the entire student body so fast it'll make your head spin."

Kagome just looked at her indifferently.

"Are you finished? I said that you have no say in my actions. I will be Inuyasha's friend for as long as he wants me to be. Nothing you say will change that, because I don't really care what the people in this school think of me. Now, if you have nothing else to say, would you please leave, I was about to start my lunch."

They had attracted quite a bit of attention in the last few moments, and now everyone who had been listening grew very quiet. No one had ever dismissed Kikyou like that. Kikyou seemed to have the same opinion, and in anger she lifted her hand in preparation to strike Kagome. She was about to bring her hand down, when a larger, clawed hand grabbed her wrist. Turning around to see who held her arm captive, Kikyou was met by the smouldering gaze of Inuyasha.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked calmly, though his anger could easily be heard in his voice.

Kikyou shook her head.

"Alright then. Get out of my sight Kikyou."

Inuyasha released her wrist, and with one last glare at Kagome and a huff, Kikyou stomped back off to her table across the room. Inuyasha looked around, shooting a glare at those who were still staring, silently saying 'what the hell are you looking at,' and all immediately went back to what they had been doing beforehand. Heaving a sigh Inuyasha took his seat and looked at the girl across from him, who was pulling her lunch out of her bag.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Do what?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"Stop Kikyou from hitting me. You didn't have to, but thank you."

A very light, barely noticeable blush spread across Inuyasha's face.

"Well, I couldn't just let her hit you. That wouldn't have made me a very good friend, now would it?"

Kagome giggled.

"No, I suppose it wouldn't," she paused and a smirk crossed her face, "But she wouldn't have hit me anyway."

Interested, Inuyasha leaned across the table to get closer to her.

"Oh?"

Kagome looked up at him through her eyelashes, the smirk still in place, but now there was a slightly embarrassed flush on her face as well.

"I've been into marital arts since I was a little girl. She wouldn't have laid a hand on me."

"Really?" Inuyasha asked, genuinely surprised, "Since when?"

"Since I was seven. My…dad enrolled me. He said that he wanted me to be able to take care of myself."

Inuyasha nodded. He had never asked Kagome about her father. When she hadn't included her father in the family members that had moved into the shrine, he had assumed it was for one of two reasons. Either her parents were divorced, or her father had died. Afterwards, he had realized that the shrine was 'Higurashi', meaning that it was her grandfather on her father's side she was moving in with, and had deduced that the second reason was unfortunately the correct one. Judging from the sadness that had crept into her scent, he was right.

"That's about how old I was when I started. It surprises me though. I never took you as the type to be interested in martial arts."

'_Though I should have guessed it,_' he said to himself, '_She's more toned, and not as fragile looking as most girls. The way she carries herself speaks of it as well, now that I think about it._'

"What? Did you think that I was a weak little girl that needed someone to stick up for her?" Kagome said, frowning at him, but with mock annoyance.

Inuyasha sputtered, trying to save himself.

"N-no! I know that you're not a little girl…I mean-I just-"

He was cut off by Kagome's laughter.

"It's fine, Inuyasha. I was joking. I know that isn't what you were thinking when you stopped Kikyou."

At the mention of Kikyou, Inuyasha remembered what had gone on between the two girls.

"Kagome, I heard what Kikyou said to you."

Kagome stopped laughing and looked up at him.

"What about it?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

He hated to say this, but he had to do it.

"Kikyou wasn't kidding. She will ruin you at this school if she doesn't get her way. What I'm trying to say is…well…you don't have to hang out with me, if it means that the whole school will be against you."

Kagome's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled.

"Inuyasha, if you heard what Kikyou said, then you heard what I said too, right?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"I meant what I said. I'll be your friend for as long as you want me to be. If people start hating me because Kikyou doesn't like that, I can deal with it. It doesn't bother me, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded, but still wasn't so sure. He knew that Kikyou would be able to sway most of the students in the school to turn against Kagome before they even knew her. He hoped that she was prepared for that. Kagome didn't seem to be worried at all, and happily went about eating her lunch. Inuyasha shook off the bad feelings that he was having and followed her example, occasionally stealing bits of her food just to tick her off.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon Inuyasha and Kagome were walking home. Neither lived far from the school, or each other, and their paths crossed about halfway, which they had learned on Kagome's first day. They now met up with each other in the morning and walked part way together in the afternoon.

They were nearing the split up point, and Inuyasha had yet to ask Kagome to come over. Mentally he was screaming at himself.

'_Why the hell is this so hard! It's not like I'm asking her out or anything. I'm just inviting her to come watch movies with us tonight, we won't even be alone together. What is wrong with me, that I just can't ask her?_'

"Inuyasha?"

For the second time that day, Inuyasha was brought out of his daydreaming to see Kagome staring up at him.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just spacing out."

Not wanting to pry, Kagome nodded and smiled.

"Well, we're here. I guess that I'll see you on Monday Inuyasha," she said, getting ready to turn away.

"Ano, chotto matte, Kagome!" he called after her, not wanting to lose his chance.

Kagome stopped and turned to face him again.

"Hai?"

"Um…I was wondering…" he started, his eyes shifting around.

Kagome watched him curiously.

'_Is he nervous about something? What could he possibly be nervous about?_'

"I was wondering…if you would like to come over later, to watch movies with me and a few friends."

Kagome beamed.

"Sure! What time?"

Before Inuyasha could stop himself, the words came pouring out of his mouth.

"Actually, do you want to come over early, for dinner?" he asked with a slight blush on his face.

Kagome was blushing as well and smiled sheepishly.

"Sure. But is it okay if I go home first and change out my uniform?"

Inuyasha silently heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.

"I'll walk with you, then we can both go to my house from there."

Kagome nodded, and they both walked off in the direction of her house instead of splitting up.

"So, I'm guessing these friends don't go to our school, am I right?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah. Their names are Miroku and Sango. They used to go to our school, but both of them graduated, Sango last year, and Miroku the year before that. Movie nights are usually the only times that all three of us can spend together," he then smiled and turned his head to look at her, "I'm really glad you moved here Kagome. It was starting to get boring at school, all by myself."

Kagome looked at him curiously.

"You don't have any other friends at school, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"No, not really. There are people that I might sometimes hang out with or talk to, but I wouldn't call them my friends."

"Oh," Kagome replied, then smiled brightly, "Then I'm glad I moved here too. I miss my old friends a little, but I have you as my friend now, so that's okay," she paused for a moment in thought, "Now that I think about it, I never really fit in with them anyway. They were so girly, and always trying to set me up with this guy named Hojou, who had a crush on me. Said that I needed to get a boyfriend. But the guy was always so…timid…I could have beaten the crap out of him without even trying."

Inuyasha laughed, and they continued talking until they reached the stairs that led to the Higurashi shrine. Inuyasha looked up at the seemingly endless staircase and whistled in amazement.

"Wow. I knew of this shrine, but I've never been here before. That looks like one hell of a workout."

"Tell me about it," Kagome sighed, but then she smiled, "On the bright side though, I used to go for a run every other day. Now thanks to the steps I don't have to," she said with a laugh and she turned and began to walk up the mountain of endless stairs.

Inuyasha laughed as well, watching her hips and legs for a moment before following her. After reaching the top, Inuyasha had to admit that even with his demon blood, the stairs had been a little strenuous for him. Not enough to wind him, but still enough to have an effect. So he was surprised when he glanced at Kagome, and she didn't seem to be the least bit tired either.

"C'mon, the main house is this way," she said, waving to him.

Inuyasha followed along behind Kagome as she pointed out the different mini shrines that covered the grounds and what their purposes were. Within a few moments they had crossed the courtyard and were at the front door of the house. Kagome pulled open the shoji and called out to the house's occupants. They received a reply from somewhere in the house, and Kagome toed off her shoes, Inuyasha following right behind her. They walked down the hallway until they came across the kitchen, where Kagome's mother was putting away groceries.

"Hi Mama," she greeted, then stepped aside and motioned to the boy standing behind her, "This is Inuyasha," she then turned to face him, "I'll be right back," then she dashed away.

Inuyasha turned back to the woman who was smiling at him warmly and waved shyly.

"Um, konnichiwa Higurashi-san."

"Hello, Inuyasha," Mama greeted, then continued to put away her groceries.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Higurashi-san?" Inuyasha asked, walking further into the kitchen.

Mama turned around to look at him, a little surprised, but smiled nonetheless.

"Of course Inuyasha. Thank you, that's very nice of you."

Inuyasha chuckled as he went to the table and began taking items out of a grocery bag.

"I guess you could say that my sister has me well trained."

Mama was confused by his choice of words, but said nothing and continued putting her groceries away in the cabinets.

A few minutes later, Kagome entered the kitchen wearing a pair of form fitting light blue jogging pants with a white stripe down the side, and a white baby doll t-shirt with the same light blue on the sleeves and collar. Inuyasha was hard pressed not to stare.

'_Her mother is right there! Stop gawking baka!_'

"Mama," he heard Kagome say, "Inuyasha invited me over tonight for a movie night with him and his friends. And he asked if I wanted to go over early for dinner. Is that okay?"

Mrs. Higurashi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I have no problems with you going over for dinner, however, I am curious about this movie night," she looked at Inuyasha, "Who else will be there?"

"Just my friends, Miroku and Sango, and my sister and her boyfriend," he replied calmly.

Her brow furrowed, and Inuyasha wasn't sure he liked that look.

"Your parents won't be there? There won't be any chaperones?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up, then a sad smile crossed his face and he tilted his head to look at the floor.

"No…my parents passed away seven years ago. I live with my sister, she's my legal guardian."

Mama's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I should have remembered that. It seems that for a moment, I forgot who you were. I'm very sorry Inuyasha."

"It's alright," he replied softly.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha sadly. Truthfully, she hadn't known either that his parents were dead. It had never come up in their conversations in the past week. She was secretly glad that her mother had brought it up, or she may have made a fool of herself at his home.

Mrs. Higurashi regained her composure, and continued asking her questions.

"Well, that's fine then, Kagome you can go. How late will this be going on?" she directed at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"That's up to you and Kagome," he explained, "Miroku and Sango are spending the night."

Mrs. Higurashi looked like she was thinking something over again before speaking.

"What are the sleeping arrangements?"

Inuyasha's ears perked up. Was she considering letting Kagome spend the night?

"Um…Miroku takes the guest bedroom, and Sango stays in Inukigo's room with her."

"If Kagome wants, and it's alright with you and your sister, she may spend the night. I do wish to speak with your sister though," she said.

Breaking out of his shock he lifted his wrist to his face and glanced at his watch.

"Uh…she's not home from work yet, but I can tell her to call you. I'm sure she won't mind though."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded in approval and turned to her daughter.

"Well, Kagome, what do you want to do?"

Kagome was just standing there dumbstruck. Her mother was going to let her stay at Inuyasha's house overnight! Gaining control of her body again, Kagome nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you Mama!" she said, giving her mother a hug. She then blushed when she remembered Inuyasha was watching, and released her mother and began backing out of the kitchen, "Umm…I'll be right back," then she dashed back towards the stairs to gather the things she would need.

Inuyasha laughed to himself at the look on her face. He looked at her mother, to see that she was smiling at him again. This woman really confused him.

"Ano…Higurashi-san, I was wondering…why did you agree to let Kagome spend the night? I mean…you just met me, and you don't know me very well…"

He was surprised to hear Kagome's mother laugh.

"Well, I suppose that you are right about that Inuyasha. But, I trust my daughter. You are a very nice boy, and Kagome speaks highly of you, so I trust you as well."

Inuyasha blushed.

"A-arigatou."

Mrs. Higurashi laughed and reached up to ruffle his hair as she walked by to collect the bags that had been carrying the groceries. A few minutes later, Kagome reappeared, this time with a small duffle bag slung over one shoulder.

"Do you need me to bring anything for watching movies later?" she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head.

"No that's okay. Inukigo's gonna take us out to get stuff after dinner."

"Okay. Mama, we're going now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Mrs. Higurashi waved back.

"Have a good time dear. Remember to have your sister call me Inuyasha."

"Okay," he replied.

Both teens walked towards the front door, slipped on their sneakers, then out the door and across the shrine grounds. They were at the top of the steps before Kagome spoke again.

"I can't believe she agreed to let me spend the night. I didn't even have to ask her. She really surprised me."

Inuyasha nodded.

"I actually kinda lied a little back there," he admitted.

Kagome looked at him curiously, and Inuyasha explained.

"Well, about the sleeping arrangements…it's actually Sango that takes the spare room, Miroku sleeps on the floor in my room. You see, Inukigo's boyfriend, Kouga, he stays in her room when he spends the night. Is that okay?"

Kagome thought on it for a moment, a heated blush rushing across her face.

"Um…yeah. But, do they…I mean…they don't…"

Inuyasha's face turned a deep crimson as well when he realized what she was trying to ask and quickly moved to answer.

"No! No they don't. Not while there are other people in the house," he explained, glad when he saw her features relax. He ran a hand through his hair, "You see, they both work a lot, and don't get much time alone together, so they're happy when they can just be close to one another. I didn't tell your mother that because I wasn't sure what she would think of them sharing a bed when they aren't married."

Kagome nodded in understanding.

"Sorry for asking that…but it would be kind of embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha replied, "I know what you mean. I've walked in on them making out more than once."

Kagome caught the almost mortified expression that crossed his face and burst out laughing. Inuyasha's attention was immediately drawn to her and he frowned.

"It's not that funny," he grumbled.

"Yes it is," she managed to get out through her laughter, "You should have seen the look on your face when you said that! It was priceless!"

"Keh," he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

Kagome got herself under control after a few moments, but Inuyasha still wasn't looking at her.

"Aw, c'mon Yash. It's funny. If you had seen the face you were making you'd agree with me."

"It's not funny. I wasn't laughing when it happened."

The look came to his face again and Kagome burst into a fit of laughter a second time. Inuyasha pouted and didn't make conversation for the rest of the walk, though Kagome guessed he was just being childish and wasn't really mad with her.

Kagome didn't really pay much attention to where they were walking, that is until they stopped at the end of the driveway of a modestly sized white house. It looked to be about the same size as her house, maybe just a little bigger. Kagome stood there for a moment, aware that she was staring rather rudely. This was not what she had been expecting. Inuyasha saw her reaction and laughed out loud.

"Not what you were expecting?" he chuckled, reading her mind.

Kagome looked at him, slightly embarrassed.

"To tell you the truth…no…not really."

Inuyasha nodded, still highly amused.

"You thought we lived in a big mansion, didn't you?"

Kagome blushed and nodded sheepishly.

"Heh, pretty much everyone thinks that. There is a family mansion on the other side of the city, but Inukigo and I haven't lived there in four years," Inuyasha explained, fishing his keys out of his pocket as they walked up the driveway.

"Really? How come?" Kagome asked as she was let in through the door.

Inuyasha shrugged as the both took off their sneakers.

"We didn't really like living there…after Mom and Dad died. Plus, neither of us like sitting around on our asses and have other people do stuff for us," he led Kagome to the staircase, "I'm going to change, and we'll leave your stuff in the guest room, then I'll show you around," he said with a smile.

Kagome beamed back at him.

"Okay."

They walked up the stairs and through the hallway. Inuyasha stopped at his door then pointed further down the hall.

"The guest room is the door on the left. I'll only be a minute."

Kagome nodded and continued down the hall while Inuyasha went into his room and closed the door. Kagome opened the doorway to the room and peeked inside. The room wasn't all that big - the furniture took up most of the room - but it looked very cozy. There was a medium sized dresser with a mirror against the wall near the end of the bed, and there was a small closet to her right. The bed itself looked extremely comfortable; queen sized with a high mattress, a thick white comforter, and fluffy white pillows. Curiosity getting the better of her, Kagome laid her bag down on the bed, sat down then stretched out on her back. She sighed as she sank down into the lush softness of the snowy white blanket.

'_I could go to sleep right now…_'

"Comfortable?"

Kagome jumped at the sound of Inuyasha's voice in the doorway, and the boy laughed.

"You may have to fight Sango for that bed. She loves it too."

Kagome smiled sheepishly and jumped off the bed. When she was standing beside Inuyasha at the door he smiled.

"Ready for the grand tour?"

Kagome nodded and Inuyasha led her across the hall first, pointing first at a door at the very end of the hall.

"That's the linen closet. The towels are in there if you want to take a shower tomorrow."

He then showed her the small office on the opposite side of the hallway, which housed the computer, then Inukigo's room further up the hall on the same side as the office.

Kagome peered through the door, assessing Inuyasha's sister's room. It was bigger than the guestroom had been, but it too had white walls. The bed was similar, but a little bigger, with a golden yellow comforter instead of a white one. There was a decent sized dresser on the wall to her right, and a vanity against the wall at the foot of the bed. She decided that this room too looked very cozy.

Next came Inuyasha's room across the hall from Inukigo's. It was smaller than his sister's room, but still bigger than the guestroom. The bed was the same size, but the dresser was bigger, and there was more furniture; a desk, a night table, and two other stands that housed a stereo and a TV. The walls were a deep crimson and covered with posters from his favourite bands, movies, and television shows. The comforter on the bed was the same red with black trimming the edges, and topped off with black pillows. Kagome had been a little surprised when the door was opened. His room was much neater than she expected a boy's room to be - though she only had what Souta's room looked like to go on.

"Something wrong?" he asked when he noticed how intently she was staring at his room.

"No," Kagome answered, shaking her head and turning to face him, "I was just thinking that my little brother could take tips from you on cleaning his room."

Inuyasha blushed from the underlying compliment in her comment.

"I said this to your mother back at your place - my sister has me well trained."

Kagome laughed at his announcement.

"I see. Well, your room is very nice. So, what's next?"

Inuyasha continued leading her back up the hallway, pointing out the bathroom on the way back downstairs. Once they were on the main level of the house, he showed her around the dining room and kitchen, then the living room. After admiring the set up of the room, Kagome found herself drawn to the pictures that lined the shelves on either side of the TV.

"Is this your sister and her boyfriend?" Kagome asked, taking up a picture.

Inuyasha glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the picture of Inukigo being hugged from behind by Kouga, both of them sporting happy grins.

"Yeah, that was on their second year anniversary," he commented.

"Really? How long have they been dating?" Kagome asked.

"Three years on May 18th," he replied without hesitation.

Kagome looked up at him with surprise.

"Well, that's accurate. You must care about your sister very much to remember her anniversary."

Inuyasha shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's easy to remember. It's the same day as Kouga's birthday. They had gone out a few times, and he asked her to be his girlfriend at his birthday party," then a mischievous smile crossed his face, "He's the first one to ever get that far with her."

Kagome was confused by his statement.

"Huh?"

Inuyasha continued smiling.

"Kouga is Inukigo's first steady boyfriend. She went out with two other guys before him, but they never got as far as asking her to be their girlfriend. I made sure of that," he said with a chuckle.

Kagome put the picture back and turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

"Inuyasha, what did you do to your sister's dates?" she asked, though she was smiling with amusement.

"Well…I may have said and done a few things to make them reconsider their desire to be involved with my sister…" he said offhandedly.

"What did you do?" Kagome said, truly curious now.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't live with us, so I had to look out for her," he replied with complete seriousness.

"Sesshoumaru? That's your older brother, right?"

"Half-brother," he corrected with a nod, "He's pretty protective of the both of us, but he's always busy and can't be around much, so it's my job to take care of my sister," he explained.

"Aww…that's so sweet," Kagome commented, making Inuyasha blush, "So really, what did you do to her dates? And how did Kouga end up being her boyfriend?" she asked.

"Basically I was just a real bastard whenever Inukigo wasn't around. It didn't take long for them to take off. If they weren't willing to deal with my shitty attitude and get to know me, then they weren't really all that interested in Inukigo or our family, just the money that she'll inherit. Kouga was different though," he said, smiling as though he were recalling a fond memory, "He came in with Inukigo one night, and while she was upstairs he came in here and sat down with me. They had been dating for about two weeks, which was longer then the others had lasted. I had my, 'don't talk to me or I'll bite your fucking head off' look on, and he just turned to me and right out of the blue asked if I had a problem with him dating my sister. He said that he really liked Inukigo, and wanted to know if his dating her was upsetting me. I shocked the hell out of him when I told him I had been waiting to hear that. He cared enough about Inukigo to stay with her, even though I was being an ass, and then to come to me and ask if I had a problem with him. He was the first guy to ever do that."

Kagome was smiling at him when he finished.

"You do very well at playing matchmaker," she commented, looking at the picture then back to face him again, "They look like they love each other very much."

Inuyasha nodded.

"They do," he replied, then decided to share something with her, "Don't repeat this to a soul, Kouga would probably kill me if he found out that I told. He's planning on asking Inukigo to marry him, but he's not sure when yet. He said maybe on her birthday, in July. He had to come to me and Sesshoumaru first about his intentions, so we're the only ones who know."

"Why did he have to go to you and Sesshoumaru first?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha didn't seem to mind explaining things to her.

"Traditionally, the demon male will ask permission from the female's parents to take her as his mate, his wife. Since Mom and Dad are both passed away, Kouga had to come to us because we are her closest family."

Kagome nodded in understanding, though she was curious to know more about the demon customs. Inuyasha seemed to read her mind.

"I'll explain more to you later, if you want."

Kagome smiled up at him.

"I'd like that."

She went back to glancing over the pictures, then came across one of Inukigo with her arm draped over Inuyasha's shoulder.

"That was my birthday last year," Inuyasha commented when he saw what one she was looking at.

Kagome nodded to show that she heard him, still looking at the picture.

"The two of you look a lot alike," she said.

Inuyasha smiled as he leaned against the wall.

"Mom always used to say that we were twins born five years apart."

Kagome continued looking at the pictures, until she stopped at one that appeared to be a family portrait.

"Wow," she exclaimed, studying it closely, "Is this your Mom, Inuyasha?" she asked, "She's beautiful."

Inuyasha looked over her shoulder at the picture and nodded.

"Yup, that's her. That's Dad," he said, pointing to the tall, strong looking man that had his arm around the woman's waist, "And that's Sesshoumaru," he pointed to a young man off to the previous man's left.

Inuyasha and Inukigo were in the picture as well. Inukigo was standing in the front between her father and Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha was at her side closest to their mother. Inukigo looked to be about fifteen, while Inuyasha looked about nine or ten. Kagome studied them all closely, comparing the children in the picture to their parents.

Sesshoumaru looked almost exactly like his father. The structure of their faces was almost identical, the only difference being that Sesshoumaru looked slightly more refined then his father. Kagome guessed that had come from his mother.

Inuyasha didn't show as much of his father as Sesshoumaru did, but it was definitely there. He had the same untamed look about him, as well as the nose, mouth, and fiery golden eyes. The structure of his face was that of his mother though, as was the shape of his eyes.

Inukigo looked even more like her mother. The only things that she showed of her father were the burning golden eyes and the silver hair that was shared by all of the siblings.

All in all, they looked like a very close, happy family.

"That was the last picture we had taken of us all together before they died," Inuyasha commented.

Kagome looked over at him, to see that he was smiling sadly as he gazed at the picture.

"You miss them a lot, don't you?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah," he worked his thoughts out carefully before continuing, "Kagome, your dad, when did he…?"

"Dad died when I was eight," she replied quietly, knowing what he was asking, "He had cancer, for a really long time, so we always knew it was a possibility that he would die. He was in remission for a few years, but I think that he somehow knew that it was going to come back, and that it was going to take him. He had been into martial arts a lot when he was younger, he was really good, and when I turned seven, he enrolled me, because he wanted me to be able to take care of myself. About six months later, the cancer came back, really bad. He was too sick to come with me to practice anymore, but he kept encouraging me to go, to never give up on it. Heh, Mama always used to come and tape my classes and tests so he would never miss anything."

She paused for a moment, and her hands came up to grasp her arms.

"It wasn't long after I turned eight that he died," she finished in almost a whisper.

Inuyasha was kicking himself for ever bringing it up in the first place. She looked so upset talking about her father. She must have been very close to him for her to have such a reaction after almost nine years. Cursing his stupid curiosity, he took Kagome by the shoulders and led her across the room, around the coffee table, and sat her down on the couch before taking a seat next to her. He watched her with concern, his ears drooping slightly, as she sat there silently.

"Kagome, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay," she said, cutting him off. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees as she looked at him, "It's not your fault. It's just hard remembering him sometimes. It usually doesn't bother me so much to think about it, I guess talking about it out loud is what does it. I'm sorry, I'm acting like a baby."

"Nah," Inuyasha said, then he surprised her by shifting closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders while resting his chin on her head, "Don't worry about it. I understand."

Kagome blushed from him being so close to her, but for some reason it felt very right for him to be holding her, so she wasn't the least bit uncomfortable with it. She relaxed into him, and couldn't help but think about how strong he felt, or how comforting his scent was.

Inuyasha was feeling quite the same way. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to comfort her in such a way, but he wasn't regretting it in the slightest. With his face so close to her hair, he could easily pick out the scent of the shampoo that she had used that morning, and beneath that was her own personal scent that he had felt himself drawn to ever since he had first picked it up just a few days ago. He closed his eyes and let himself bask in her presence.

Everything was blissfully peaceful, well it was, until Inuyasha opened his eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Inukigo looking directly at him through the large bay window of the living room. He had been so distracted that he hadn't heard the car pull up, or her opening and closing the door as she got out. Now his sister was staring at him intently, her head tilted to one side and her ears flicking in confusion, about a foot away from the window. He blushed a deep scarlet, pulling his arm off Kagome like she was on fire and growling lightly when he saw Inukigo laughing at him. Kagome looked up at him questioningly, then turned to follow his gaze, and blushed as well when she saw the laughing hanyou woman standing just outside the window.

Inukigo decided to spare them more embarrassment, and walked away from the window to the front door. She came into the house and kicked off her shoes, then walked through the dining room and peered around the wall into the living room. Inuyasha was glaring at her, though he was still blushing, and the girl sitting beside him was sheepishly hiding the lower half of her face behind her legs. Inukigo grinned and waved.

"Hi! I'm Inuyasha's sister, Inukigo. I'm guessing that you're Kagome. The two of you look busy, so I'll just leave you _alone_," she said, stressing the word alone as though she was implying something, "I'll be back in a minute."

As she hurried off up the stairs Inuyasha grumbled to himself about how evil his sister was, then turned to Kagome to see that only her eyes were now above her knees.

"It's best you get used to that," he sighed.

"Why?" Kagome asked lifting her head slightly, "Is she always insinuating stuff like that?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"No, but she won't hesitate if the opportunity presents itself. I said that, well, because you haven't even met Miroku yet."

Kagome gulped. What was she getting herself into?

* * *

Yea, new chapter! Sorry that I made everyone wait so long for it. I'm not going to reply to the reviews this time around, because I'm not on the internet at the moment that I'm writing this, and I don't want to go looking them up so I can get this done and posted. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, I'll answer questions next time. 


	5. First Meetings

**Chapter 4: First Meetings  
**

Inukigo trudged back down the stairs ten minutes later, now wearing a pair of khaki cargo pants, and a tight black t-shirt that showed off her midriff. Her hair was also free of the bun that she usually wore for work, now held back in a loose pony tail at the nape of her neck. Laughing to herself as she recalled the faces of the two teenagers she had caught in the living room earlier, she hoped that she hadn't embarrassed them too much. When she reached the entrance to the living room, she saw that both Inuyasha and Kagome had cooled down, but her brother was still glaring at her fiercely. Inukigo laughed lightly and entered the room, sitting in the chair so that she was facing the couch.

"Inuyasha, stop glaring at me. I was just having a bit of fun."

"Keh."

"Oh, don't be that way. Now, why don't you introduce us?"

Inuyasha sighed, deciding to give up on his irritation.

"Inukigo, this is Kagome. Kagome, this is my sister, Inukigo."

Kagome smiled and waved sheepishly, and Inukigo smiled back warmly.

"Have you already shown Kagome around the house?" Inukigo asked.

"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded, then a realization struck him, "Except for the basement. You'll like it down there, Kagome."

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"The basement was converted into a dojo. Are you a martial artist Kagome?" Inukigo asked.

Kagome blushed and nodded as she straightened out her legs.

Inukigo leaned forward with interest.

"Really? For how long?"

"Almost 10 years now."

"Well, how about we show you the dojo? And we'll have to see how skilled you are before you leave."

"Actually, sis, Kagome is staying over for movie night. She's allowed to sleep over, but her mom wants to talk to you."

"Oh. Well, can I have your number Kagome? I'll call her while you two go downstairs."

Kagome nodded and told her the number.

"Um, Inukigo, I kinda didn't tell Kagome's mom the actual sleeping arrangements when she asked…"

"What did you tell her Inuyasha?" Inukigo asked, setting a stern frown on her face.

"Uh…I didn't tell her that Kouga would be staying. She thinks that Sango shares your room and Miroku takes the spare."

"Why did you do that?"

"She was thinking about letting Kagome stay over, and I didn't know what she would think if I told her that Kouga would be staying with you."

Inukigo sighed and shook her head.

"I'll explain it to her Inuyasha. Though you really shouldn't have lied, I understand why you did it," she said, giving him a knowing smile that had both teens blushing lightly, "Go on downstairs, I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Thanks nee-chan."

Inukigo waved them off and gestured them towards the staircase that went down to the basement. Inuyasha led the way with Kagome at his side. Just as they were getting ready to descend the stairs, they heard Inukigo begin speaking into the phone.

"Hello, Higurashi-san. This is Inukigo; Inuyasha's sister. My brother has just informed me that you wished to speak with me…"

Her voice trailed off as the two teenagers made their way down to the basement-turned-dojo, Inuyasha in front with Kagome following behind him. When they turned the corner and Kagome saw the room, she could do nothing gape at it.

"Oh, wow…"

Inuyasha smiled at her reaction. The dojo took up almost the entire basement, save for a room that doubled as a storage and laundry room. There was also an impressive array of weapons and training equipment covering the walls, as well as a large punching bag off to one side. There was also a nearly full trophy case against the far wall.

"This is incredible."

"It was Inukigo's idea," Inuyasha explained, "She had it done just before we moved into the house. Said that it wouldn't be complete without a training room. We've had some pretty awesome matches down here."

"So Inukigo is into martial arts too?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha scoffed.

"Way more than just 'into' it. She's a pro. She was in tournaments all the time when she was younger. She's still invited to participate in tournaments occasionally. I've been in a few before too, but none lately."

"I guess they were all private tournaments, I've never heard of either of you on the circuit before."

"We prefer it that way," came a voice from the stairs.

Both teens turned to see Inukigo at the base of the stairs behind them.

"Why?"

"Well," Inukigo began, "we get enough heat because of the Takahashi name, as well as Shingetsu Incorporated. Fighting is something that we both enjoy, and we prefer to keep it private so it isn't just another thing for the public to hound us on."

Kagome nodded.

"I can understand that. I've never been in a tournament before, but I've seen what the pros have to deal with. I'm not sure I would want the fame either."

Inukigo smiled at the younger girl warmly, then cast a glance at her brother.

"Inuyasha, you forgot to introduce Kagome to someone. She's very disappointed."

Kagome looked confused, while Inuyasha's eyebrows rose.

"Aw, shit. Is she mad?"

Inukigo shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, ask her yourself."

Turning slightly back towards the staircase, Inukigo made a beckoning motion with one hand. Kagome heard the footsteps of someone coming down over the stairs, but it sounded like more than one person. She was shocked when a large white dog appeared behind Inukigo and seemed to glare and Inuyasha. Her shock faded almost immediately though, and she had to fight to keep from squealing.

"Oh my gosh! She's gorgeous! What's her name?"

Inukigo smiled again at the girl's excitement.

"This," she said, laying a hand on the dog's head, "is Tenshi. Tenshi, this is Kagome. Be nice," this was directed at the dog, then Inukigo turned back to Kagome, "Be a bit careful of her at first Kagome. She can be a little territorial around strange females sometimes, but I don't think you really need to worry about it with Inuyasha and I here."

Kagome was still delighted at the sight of the dog, seemingly unfazed by Inukigo's slight warning. She crouched down so she was closer to Tenchi's eye level and continued to observe the dog as she asked questions.

"Is she a pure-bred Akita?"

Inukigo nodded.

"Well…yes and no."

Kagome looked up in confusion, and Inukigo began to explain.

"Tenshi has a bit of demon blood in her. I'm not exactly sure how much, but it's less than half. It's made her a bit bigger than a normal Akita by a few inches, she's much smarter, and she'll live quite a bit longer than the average dog. She's also been know to hold a grudge for a time," she said, giving Inuyasha a meaningful glance.

The younger hanyou sighed and approached the dog before kneeling in front of her and scratching her head affectionately.

"I didn't mean to forget about you. I'm really sorry that I didn't introduce you to Kagome right away, okay?"

The dog barked once then licked up one side of his face in what Kagome assumed to be acceptance of Inuyasha's apology. Inuyasha then turned and motioned Kagome over beside him, encouraging her to get to know the dog. Both he and Inukigo were on alert in case Tenchi decided that she wasn't happy with Kagome's presence. They were surprised when the dog tentatively sniffed Kagome's hand and gave it a lick. Kagome giggled and reached to scratch behind the dog's ears, and Tenchi's eyes immediately rolled back in her head and a contented growl rose up in her throat.

"She certainly likes you," Inukigo commented, "It usually takes her time to get used to new females. She gets jealous so easily."

Tenshi licked Kagome's cheek, earning a giggle from the girl. Inuyasha smiled and looked up at his sister.

"How did the talk with Higurashi-san go?"

"Well," Inukigo began, "she just wanted to make sure it was alright with me if Kagome stayed over for the night. I also mentioned that I had asked my boyfriend to spend the night without your knowledge. She was very understanding and said that she was perfectly fine with it."

Inuyasha blushed and gave a small smile.

"Thanks for covering for me nee-chan."

Inukigo waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, it's not that big a deal. No more lying though, I mean it," she said sternly.

"I got it," Inuyasha replied with a nod.

"Good," Inukigo then turned her attention to Kagome, "So, what do you think of the dojo?"

Kagome stood up with a bright smile on her face.

"It's amazing! I've never seen a personal dojo before."

"Well then, do you think that we'll be able to test you some time before you leave?"

Kagome looked a little reluctant.

"I-I don't know. I mean…you're both half demons. I wouldn't be able to measure up to you, since I'm only human."

Inukigo gave her a soft smile.

"I know that we outmatch you in strength and speed; there's no way around that. But we should be able to judge how skilled you are by how well you do against either of us," she then seemed to have another thought, "Or we can have you spar against Sango, since she's human and you would be more evenly matched," her face brightened as another idea came to her, "Or maybe we can have a team tournament, girls against guys."

Inuyasha was instantly opposed to the idea.

"Aw, c'mon sis. You know Miroku couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. Why do we have to get stuck with him?"

Inukigo just grinned at him.

"It would be the best two out of three, so you and Kouga could still stand a chance at winning. It'll be fun."

"I guess so," Inuyasha grumbled, "What do you think Kagome? You okay with it?"

"Um, yeah, I guess," Kagome replied warily. She wasn't prepared for something like this at all!

"Well, now that that's settled, why don't we go and get dinner ready. Any requests Kagome?"

"No, anything is fine."

"Okay then, I'm thinking that oden would be good. Any objections?"

Kagome shook her head enthusiastically.

"No way, I love oden."

Inukigo smiled.

'_Inuyasha wasn't kidding when he said it was her favourite food._'

"Alright. It's my turn to cook, but would you two like to help?"

Kagome nodded and Inuyasha decided to go along with the women instead of being the odd one out.

"Good, then we can go out and get supplies for tonight after we eat."

Inukigo, Inuyasha, and Kagome made their way back upstairs, with Tenshi following closely behind. Dinner was an enjoyable experience, where Inukigo confirmed that Inuyasha could indeed cook and declared that he would prepare lunch for everyone the next day as proof, much to Inuyasha's embarrassment. After they had cleaned up, everyone -- minus the dog -- piled into Inukigo's car and they set off in search of supplies for their upcoming movie night.

* * *

"Sis, did we really need all this stuff?"

Inukigo turned to look over her shoulder at her brother, though she couldn't see his face behind the grocery bags he was carrying.

"Of course. We're going to have our little tournament before we start watching movies, and I'm sure everyone will work up an appetite; specifically you and Kouga. I'd prefer having food prepared for that purpose, instead of everyone raiding the cupboards and refrigerator," she happened to look up at the clock in the kitchen, "It's nearly seven, the other's will be here soon. Why don't you two go set up the living room while I get food ready?"

Inuyasha dropped his bags on the island in the kitchen, and Kagome put down the few that she was carrying beside them.

"Okay. C'mon Kagome."

Both teens moved to the living room and Inuyasha began to show Kagome what needed to be done in order accommodate everyone comfortably. By the time everything was ready, it was just about seven, and the front door opened and someone called out.

"Hello?"

Inukigo smiled as she replied.

"Hey Miroku, Sango! C'mon in."

There was some shuffling in the front porch, then two people appeared and made their way to the kitchen, where Inukigo, Inuyasha, and Kagome were waiting. One was a man with black hair tied back into a short ponytail, deep blue eyes, and a kind, innocent face. He wore a short-sleeved, dark purple button-up shirt, un-tucked over black jeans. The other was a woman with long, chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, and a warm smile. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt that fit her snugly and light pink, form fitting track pants. Feeling just a little bit out of place in the room with the hanyou siblings and their friends, Kagome half hid behind Inuyasha in an attempt to avoid notice. Inukigo must have noticed the girl's unease because she wrapped an arm boldly around Kagome's shoulders and pulled her out into view.

"We have a new guest this time around guys. This is Higurashi, Kagome -- Inuyasha's new friend from school. Kagome, these are Taijya, Sango and Houshi, Miroku."

Kagome blushed from being put on the spot, but managed to gather herself enough to bow in greeting.

"Nice to meet you both. Inuyasha has told me a lot about you."

"We've heard quite a bit about you in the last few days too, Kagome. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Sango replied.

"That it is," Miroku agreed, then it seemed as though he just appeared before Kagome and was holding her hand, "I must say that you are every bit as beautiful as I pictured you to be. Kagome, I was wondering, may I ask-"

He was cut off by a fist connecting with his head.

"No you may _not _ask," Sango seethed as she shook her fist at him.

"H-hai, Sango," Miroku replied sheepishly while rubbing the lump on his head.

Kagome stood then in shock with a crimson blush on her face.

'_No wonder he has such an innocent face…it's to hide the fact that he has absolutely no innocence! And Sango looks pretty mad…maybe they're dating…will she be mad at me because he was flirting? Oh my…_'

Inukigo still had her arm around Kagome's shoulders and noticed the girl's stunned expression. She chuckled softly, catching Kagome's attention.

"Don't mind him Kagome, Miroku is always like that. He's just a bit of a pervert, that's all."

Sango scoffed.

"'Just a bit'? Sure, whatever you say."

Inukigo began to laugh harder, so Inuyasha explained.

"What Inukigo means is that Miroku has this habit of asking every woman he meets to 'bare his child.' He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just been doing it for so long that he feels compelled to say it whenever he sees a woman."

"Yeah," Inukigo said when she got her laughter under control, "He's been doing it since he hit puberty and discovered that girls weren't as gross as he thought. I was his first victim…though back then it wasn't just that stupid question," she said, sending the nervous man in question an annoyed glare.

Inuyasha coughed and started laughing while Inukigo and Sango continued to give Miroku glares. Kagome still wasn't sure what to make of everything.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the owner of the new voice, who was standing in the hallway just outside the dining room. Inukigo smiled and withdrew her arm from Kagome's shoulders then walked over to the newcomer, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Hey, Kouga."

Kouga smiled and put an arm around her, then gave her a quick chaste kiss.

"Hi babe. Looks like I'm the last one here."

Inukigo gave a little laugh.

"As usual. Miroku and Sango only got here a few minutes ago though, so you're not that late."

Kouga looked up from his girlfriend and took notice of the new addition to the group standing behind and a little off to the side of Inuyasha.

"Oh, and who's this?"

Kagome was sure her face would be permanently red if she was put on the spot anymore. Inuyasha was the one that answered Kouga's question.

"This is Kagome. She's just shy because nee-chan and Miroku embarrassed her."

"Oh, is that so?" Kouga said, eyeing his girlfriend knowingly. He then walked around Inukigo and moved to stand in front of Kagome, giving the girl a reassuring smile.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Kagome. My name is Ookami, Kouga, and just between you and me," he leaned down a little closer to her ear, "Don't mind these weirdos, you'll get used to their antics in no time."

Kagome's eyes widened then a small smirk broke out on her face.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled indignantly, "_Our _antics? What about yours, mangy wolf?"

Kouga sent the younger half demon a smirk.

"What's the matter? Afraid that I'll make you look bad in front of your new friend, inukuro?"

Inuyasha blushed hotly and growled in retaliation.

"N-no! And I told you not to call me that!"

"That's enough," Inukigo interjected, coming to stand between the two boys in order to prevent a spat that she knew would result if she let them continue, "Now, both of you calm down. We have the whole night ahead of us, and I'd rather not start with a fight between you two. Alright?"

Both Kouga and Inuyasha nodded and backed off, letting Inukigo release a relieved sigh.

"Good. Now that that's settled, I have an announcement to make."

"Are you pregnant?" A voice interrupted.

Inukigo turned to pin a glare on the man who looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. Beside him, Sango was trying as well but not doing as good of a job.

"Funnnnny, Miroku," Inukigo ground out, "Are you looking for a concussion tonight?"

Miroku continued smiling, but held his hands up defensively in hopes of warding off her anger. But then, everyone's attention was drawn to a soft laughter coming from Inuyasha's direction. Kagome was giggling lightly and trying to get herself under control.

"I-I'm sorry. I just think that I've adjusted to being around all of you now," she looked up with her eyes filled with mirth, "It's funny to hear you arguing, since I can tell that none of you really mean it. You must all be very close if you can fight that way."

The rest of the room's occupants smiled at the girl in return, and it was Inukigo who spoke to her.

"I'm glad that you feel comfortable around us all now, Kagome. Now, as I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted," she said, sending Miroku another glare, to which he just grinned, "I have a little announcement. Inuyasha, Kagome, and I have decided that before we start watching movies tonight, we should have a little…competition."

"Competition?" Sango asked, "What kind of competition?"

Inukigo smiled wickedly.

"A martial arts competition of course."

Kouga, Sango, and Miroku all turned surprised looks to Kagome, who did a little better at keeping her blush down. Kouga was the one to speak first.

"You're a fighter, Kagome?" he asked. Kagome nodded and smiled sheepishly, "You didn't tell us about that Inuyasha."

Inuyasha shrugged.

"I didn't find out myself until today."

Kouga nodded in understanding.

"Sounds good to me."

"Me too," Sango agreed, "It'll be fun."

Miroku, however, did not seem to share her sentiments.

"Just a second…I'm not so sure about this."

"Yeah, well too bad. You've been outvoted Miroku," Inukigo replied.

"But…but…"

"We'll make sure you don't get bruised up too much, Houshi," Kouga said, throwing an arm over the other man's shoulders.

Miroku looked to be anything but reassured.

"Don't worry Miroku," Inukigo said, "We're going to be in teams of threes; boy versus girls. So you don't have to worry about Inuyasha or Kouga beating you up at least."

Miroku's expression didn't get any better, but Kouga and Inuyasha both had 'aw, shucks' looks on their faces.

"Enough of that now," Inukigo continued, "Everyone go get ready and we'll meet down in the dojo in ten minutes for a warm-up."

Everyone agreed, though Miroku was a little reluctant, and went their separate ways in order to prepare themselves for their upcoming private competition.

* * *

This chapter came together pretty fast, so I decided that I should go ahead and put it up now since it's all finished. No sense in making you wait. The next chapter of All Things Come Full Circle is coming along as well, and I'm aiming to have it done and posted within a week (crosses fingers).

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I'm glad you all liked the chapter. A belated Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year!


	6. Fight!

**Chapter 5**

"So Inukigo, how are we going to do this?"

The aforementioned hanyou looked up from where she was stretching to address her boyfriend's question.

"What do you mean?"

"How are we going to pick the match ups?"

"Well," Inukigo started, leaning back on her hands, "I'm definitely fighting you, since I'm the only one who has a chance. We can't really test Kagome's abilities if she fights Miroku, so she'll be paired with Inuyasha. That leaves Sango and the lecher," she turned to look at the other occupants of the dojo, "Is that alright with everyone?"

Miroku of course needed to have his say.

"I take offence to this match up. I would be more than capable of testing Kagome's fighting skills."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut up Miroku. We all know you're just saying that to get out of a fight with Sango because you know she's going to kick your ass. Kagome's been training since she was seven, so you definitely wouldn't be a challenge for her. Face it Miroku, you're an alright fighter, you just don't have the experience."

"That was harsh," Miroku pouted.

"You'll get over it," Inukigo replied, waving him off, "So, who wants to go first?"

"We'll go," Sango volunteered, wrapping an arm around the very frightened Miroku, "Might as well get the fight with this baby over with first so he can stop trying to get out of it."

Miroku sighed in defeat and resigned himself to his fate.

"Alas, it was a pleasure knowing you all," he began with a hand over his heart, "And in these last moments I must confess this one thing that has weighed heavily on my mind -- it was I, Inukigo-chan, who stole your panties from the clothesline three years ago, not the young boy that used to live next door."

"WHAT!" Inukigo screamed, her face bypassing red and going straight to purple.

She made a dive for the laughing man, but Kouga grabbed her around the waist and held on tight when she struggled.

"You're lucky Sango likes you, you lecherous bastard, or you would be losing one of your favourite body parts right about now!" she yelled at him from the prison of her boyfriend's arms.

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sango continued to laugh, while Miroku sobered and covered the threatened part of his anatomy defensively.

"Alright love, calm down. It was three years ago, no harm done."

Inukigo sighed and relaxed in Kouga's grip.

"I guess so," she then glared at Miroku, "But don't think this is over. I'll get you back, so you better watch yourself, Houshi."

Miroku gulped and Sango intervened to get everyone back on track.

"So, Inukigo, maybe we should make this fight worth something. Have a prize to motivate everyone."

"A prize," Inukigo mused, her anger momentarily forgotten, "What could we use as a prize…?" she wondered out loud, "How about…winners get first shower and first choice of movies later tonight?"

"That doesn't seem like much of a prize…" Miroku said absently.

"I know what you're idea of a prize would be, and trust me, it ain't happening," Sango replied with a frown.

"Can we get this started already? We're wasting time," Inuyasha grumbled.

"You're right, otouto. Miroku and Sango, centre of the ring."

As the two moved to take their positions, Inukigo relayed the rules.

"Okay, first to pin the other wins. Falling out the ring means you lose. Try to avoid knockouts," this was directed more at Sango, "We still want everyone conscious for movies later."

They both nodded in understanding and took fighting stances. Inukigo raised a hand.

"Ready…? Go!" she declared while dropped her hand.

Sango immediately went on the offensive, forcing Miroku to back up and concentrate on defending and dodging.

Inukigo plopped down on the floor beside Kagome as they watched the fight, which Sango was clearly dominating.

"This won't last long," she commented to the younger woman beside her without looking away from the fight, "Miroku is unsure of himself because of his inexperience, and it makes him a very cautious fighter. Sango knows it and makes sure to keep the pressure on him so he's too busy defending himself to look for openings. Eventually he slips up and it's all over."

Kagome nodded, still watching the fight intently, and noticed that it was going just as Inukigo had said it would.

Sango was attacking Miroku full out, completely neglecting her own defence. The strategy never would have worked against a more experienced fighter; Kagome could see openings from where she was sitting. But Miroku couldn't see them because he was too busy trying to keep Sango from hitting him.

Then, after about five minutes of attacking with relatively high strikes, Sango decided to switch to her feet and dropped down to deliver a sweeper kick. It caught Miroku off guard and he went down face first as soon as it connected. When he hit the floor Sango was on him immediately, digging one knee into his back while grabbing his arms and pinning them behind him. Miroku struggled, but Sango's hold was secure and after counting to three, Inukigo declared Sango the winner.

Sango released Miroku and stood up, offering her boyfriend a hand up as well. When he was standing, Miroku rolled his shoulders while he grimaced.

"You're always so rough Sango," though his complaint was ruined when he grinned, "You always know just what I like."

Sango blushed furiously at his insinuation and smacked him over the head.

"Pervert."

"Alright, alright, that's enough. One win for the girls," Inukigo declared as Sango joined her team mates.

"Yeah, okay," Inuyasha shot back grumpily, "Who's going next?"

"Well," Inukigo replied, "Maybe Kouga and I should go next," she then smiled at Kagome, "Leave the surprise for last."

Kagome blushed lightly, Inuyasha shrugged.

"Yeah, sure."

Inukigo smirked at her boyfriend and cracked her knuckles as she moved to the centre of the ring.

"Ready to lose sweetheart?"

Kouga chuckled and went to join her in the ring.

"Not likely babe. I'm going all out."

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Alright," Sango called, declaring herself referee, "Same rules apply. Fighters ready?"

Inukigo and Kouga were still smirking at each other as they took fighting stances and prepared to begin.

"Go!"

Inukigo rushed at Kouga, aiming a fist at his chest, but he quickly reacted by sidestepping and pushing her arm away. Kouga attempted to counter with a kick to Inukigo's back, but she swiftly dropped to a crouch below his leg and shot out her own in a sweeper kick. Kouga dodged it, and the exchange between the two continued at blinding speed. Kagome sat there and stared in awe.

"Amazing aren't they?"

Kagome managed to take her eyes away from the fight for a moment to address Sango.

"Yeah. They're unbelievable."

"It's like this every time they fight. Both of them are real professionals, and they're so evenly matched that it's always a mystery as to who's going to win. It makes for some great entertainment."

Kagome nodded and gave the fight her full attention once again.

Inukigo grunted as one of Kouga's kicks connected and she dropped to the floor, but she managed to roll back to her feet before he had the opportunity to pin her. Kouga didn't seem to expect her to move so fast, so he was unable to avoid a punch aimed at his stomach. He doubled over as the wind was knocked out of him, and Inukigo followed up with a second punch to his back, which sent him to the floor on his stomach. Inukigo was about to move in for the pin, but as soon as she got close enough Kouga rolled over onto his back, bunched his legs up against his body, and kicked out at Inukigo's stomach. The move hit its mark knocking Inukigo off her feet, and right out of the ring.

Miroku and Inuyasha cheered and Sango stood up to declare the winner.

"Kouga wins by a ring out. Damn, that was finished way too fast."

Kouga shrugged as he sat up.

"Sorry Sango, but the opportunity was there and I took it. I didn't think that I hit Inukigo hard enough to send her that far though. You alright love? I didn't hurt you did I?"

Inukigo sighed and sat up as well.

"No, I'm fine. This means we've got one apiece. Interesting."

The half demon got to her feet and dusted off her pants as she walked back to her team's side of the ring. She smiled as she approached Kagome.

"Well, it's your turn now. Don't worry about winning, it's not a big deal of you don't. We just want to see how well you can fight, so don't stress over it okay."

Kagome released a breath and nodded sharply.

"Got it. I'll do my best."

Inukigo patted the younger girl on the back.

"Let's see what ya got."

Kagome smiled and ran towards the centre of the ring where Inuyasha was already waiting for her.

"Ready, Kagome?"

"As ready as I can be."

"Alright!" Inukigo called from the sidelines, "Fighters ready?"

Inuyasha and Kagome took fighting stances as they waiting for the signal to begin.

'_I'll start out slow at first to see what her level is, then take it from there._'

"Go!"

Inuyasha went on the defensive, giving Kagome the opportunity to make the first move so he could determine how serious he could be in this fight.

Instead of attacking head on, Kagome began circling around him, forcing Inuyasha to turn with her to follow her movements.

'_She's good at analyzing the situation…I guess I should give her something to analyze then._'

Darting forward at a speed much slower than what he was fully capable of, Inuyasha attempted to land a kick to Kagome's side, only to have it blocked quite easily. Kagome smirked at him as she held on firmly to his ankle.

"You can move faster than that."

Inuyasha returned the smirk.

"Alright then."

Faster than before, he delivered a few punches in quick succession, alternating between aiming for her shoulders and stomach. Kagome let go of his leg, then either blocked or dodged every punch. Inukigo and Sango began cheering while Miroku and Kouga began egging Inuyasha on because he couldn't seem to hit her. Kagome still had a smirk on her face as she continued to deflect his attacks.

"C'mon…take this a little bit seriously."

Inuyasha was too busy being impressed to notice the slightly wild look in her eyes, and the tiny prickling of power across his skin. Inukigo noticed it however, and her ears went rigid as the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She looked in the boys' direction and saw that they had noticed it as well. Walking over to them she voiced her thoughts.

"You feel that right?"

Miroku and Kouga both nodded.

"She's from a shrine family, right?" Miroku asked, then continued at Inukigo's nod, "She's definitely a miko. Untrained, and powerful judging by the way she's leaking power like that."

"Her attitude seems to be changing too," Kouga commented, "She's bolder and cockier than before."

"I noticed that too," Inukigo replied. Their attention was then drawn back to the ring once again.

Apparently, Kagome had goaded Inuyasha to the point where he stopped trying to hit her and tried for grappling instead. Only his plan didn't quite work because Kagome had grabbed his hands and was pushing back. Inuyasha's expression was just as surprised as everyone else's as she began to match his strength.

'_What in the hell?_'

"How is she doing that? I can feel her powers getting stronger, and it almost seems like the spiritual energy is enhancing her body. Is that even possible?"

"I've read about it before," Miroku replied, "It's very rare and there have only been a few mikos in history that were able to use their powers in the way Kagome is using hers now. But I remember that all the mikos documented with having this ability were highly trained. But Kagome's powers are raw, it's amazing that she is able to do this without willing it."

"Inuyasha isn't in any danger is he?" Inukigo asked, concern evident in her voice.

Miroku looked back to the match in front of them, watching as Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged blows.

"Not at the moment. It looks like that she's only using her power to enhance herself. None of it is being directed at Inuyasha. We should probably keep a close eye on it though."

Inukigo nodded and gave the match her full attention, keeping watch for any change that could be dangerous for her brother. Inuyasha looked confused as to how this seemingly normal human girl was easily matching his speed and strength.

He couldn't understand what was going on. Kagome should not have been this strong. It just wasn't possible for a human girl.

'_I don't want to use too much power, but maybe I should end this now so we can figure out what's happening._'

Decision made, Inuyasha rushed at Kagome at nearly his full speed. He managed to take her by surprise and for the few seconds that she hesitated he was able to get her down and pin her to the mat. She struggled fruitlessly, and Inukigo was about to start the count when she felt a rush of spiritual power prickle across her skin. Her eyes widened as she comprehended exactly what was about to happen.

"Inuyasha! Get away from her!"

Inuyasha looked up in confusion, but he realised the meaning of her warning when he felt little electric shocks wherever he touched Kagome's body. Unfortunately, he caught on too late and was thrown backwards into one of the bare walls of the dojo when Kagome's spiritual energy exploded at him. He hit the wall with a dull smack, and a few of the weapons that he just managed to miss rattled out of their holders and fell to the floor. He sat there on the floor winded and stunned by what had just happened. Everyone ran in his direction to see if he was alright.

"Inuyasha," Inukigo said in concern. She patted his cheek to catch his attention when he didn't look at her at first, "Are you hurt?"

"I-I don't think so," he replied, concentrating on his body so he could feel if anything was wrong. When he sat up a little straighter, Inukigo noticed the red tint to the skin on his arms and hands. Without warning she grabbed the hem of his wife beater and lifted it up so she could see his chest and abdomen. Inuyasha cried out in surprise but she ignored him as she put his shirt back in place.

"Looks like you've got some purification flash burns. Nothing serious though."

Inukigo looked over her shoulder and saw that Kagome was sitting in the centre of the ring with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face hidden behind them. Leaving her brother's side, Inukigo went to check on the younger girl.

"Kagome," she said softly as she approached and reached a hand out to lay on her shoulder.

Kagome flinched and moved out of reach, her eyes fearful as she looked up and Inukigo.

"D-don't touch me. I might…" she trailed off as she looked in Inuyasha's direction.

"It's alright, Kagome," Inukigo soothed as she knelt beside the distraught girl, "All the energy is gone now. You won't hurt me."

To prove her point she reached out and put her hand on Kagome's shoulder, and when nothing happened the teenager relaxed slightly.

"W-what was that? How did I do all those things?" she asked. Her voice was strained and Inukigo could see tears building in her eyes.

"This is the first time that this has happened then?" Inukigo questioned, her voice calm and soothing.

Kagome nodded.

"Inuyasha's demonic aura must have drawn out your spiritual powers than," Inukigo said, more to herself than to Kagome.

"Spiritual powers? What?" Kagome asked, thoroughly confused.

"What you just used to blast Inuyasha across the room, and what you were using earlier to make yourself stronger was spiritual power. That makes you a miko. A powerful one too, despite the fact that you haven't had any training."

"A…miko?"

"That's right. You're from a shrine family right? It shouldn't be all that surprising."

"Well, yeah. But there hasn't been anyone in my family to have spiritual powers for generations. That just makes it a little bit harder to believe."

"I understand. But you have to acknowledge this Kagome, and get training for it."

"That's right," Miroku added as he approached, "Now that your powers have manifested themselves for the first time, they will be more likely to come to the surface without warning when you are in close proximity with demons. It could prove to be dangerous, as we've already seen," he commented, looking over to where Inuyasha was just getting to his feet.

Kagome followed his gaze and her face fell.

"I'm so sorry, I never meant to do that," she whispered as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Inukigo frowned at Miroku, then placed a comforting arm over Kagome's shoulders. The younger girl leaned back into the loose embrace.

"We know that you didn't. It's not your fault that you couldn't control powers that you didn't even know you had. What's important now is that you take responsibility for them and learn how to use them properly."

Kagome sniffed and nodded against Inukigo's shoulder.

"I will. I don't want anything like that to happen again."

"That's good. I know someone that'll be able to help you. I'll give her a call when we go back upstairs."

"Okay," Kagome then looked up and saw that Inuyasha, Sango, and Kouga were approaching them as well, "Gods, Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. You're not hurt are you?"

"Nah, I'm okay. Some burns, but they'll heal in a few hours. Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault."

Kagome nodded, but her expression showed that she still felt guilty about what she had happened.

"Well, I guess that means the girls win," Inuyasha stated indifferently while shoving his hands into the pockets of his jogging pants.

"B-but, isn't what I did cheating? You never said anything about being allowed to use powers," Kagome said, looking at Inukigo, who just smiled at her in return.

"You're right, I never said anything about being allowed to use powers, which means that it was perfectly fine to do so. That means that our team wins."

"Alright! First shower!" Sango cheered. Then she smiled cheekily and took off towards the stairs.

"Damn," Inukigo cursed, "Oh well, let's all go upstairs and get something to drink. I think I'll make that phone call too."

Those remaining in the dojo agreed with her, and all five of them trudged their way up over the stairs to get on with the rest of the night.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kagome and the boys were lounging around in the kitchen, each with a tall glass of water while they waited for Inukigo to finish her phone call. The hanyou woman had gone and grabbed the cordless, then re-entered the kitchen and hopped up on the countertop as she dialled a number and waited. The boys started talking, but Inuyasha's attention often strayed to Kagome, who was listening intently to Inukigo's conversation.

"Konbonwa, Kaede-bachan. This is Inukigo……Yes, I know it's been awhile since I've called, sorry about that. How have you been?……Glad to hear it. I'm sorry to be so blunt Kaede, but I really do have a very important reason for calling……well, would you believe that I have a rather powerful untrained miko standing here in my kitchen right now?"

There was a brief pause before the muffled voice of the other woman could be heard from the phone once again.

"Positive. She's Inuyasha's new friend, from school. We're having a little get together and decided to have a small martial arts competition. We paired her up with Inuyasha, and it seems that his youki drew her powers out……Yes, from what she said, it's the first time that it's happened……You'll probably recognize the family name; Higurashi, Kagome."

Inukigo was silent for a few moments as the woman on the other end of the phone line spoke, then Inukigo nodded in agreement to whatever she had said.

"Yes, we thought so too, that's why I called you……I know that you would have to speak to her parents, but maybe you could drop by tomorrow morning and speak with her first. Then we could all head over to the shrine together……Any time is fine Kaede, we'll be here. Thanks, see you tomorrow."

Inukigo ended the call and put the phone down on the countertop with a sigh.

"So she's going to drop by tomorrow then?" Inuyasha asked.

Inukigo 'hmmed' and nodded, then looked at Kagome.

"Kaede is a miko who's been a friend of the family since before either Inuyasha and I were born. And she was a friend of our mother long before that. You see, our mother had spiritual powers as well, and it was Kaede who taught her to control them when they first appeared. She's very interested in meeting you."

Kagome nodded.

"And she'll want to meet my mother too?"

"Yeah. It's standard procedure because sometimes parents are against having their child trained. In this age spiritual powers are uncommon, and many parents fear that their child will be labelled as an outcast because of his or her strange abilities. I doubt you would have that problem though. Coming from a shrine family, I'm sure they would be thrilled about it."

"My grandfather definitely will, he'll be able to brag to his friends," Kagome said while rolling her eyes, "You said that you'd all head over to my place tomorrow. Why all of you?"

"Well," Inukigo replied, "Inuyasha and I will come with you and Kaede at least. You see, it's likely that Kaede will ask us to help you with your training."

"She will?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yup," Inukigo replied with a nod, "Because of Kagome's age, it may be a little difficult for her to call upon her powers at first. That's why she would need to train with someone who has youki so her powers will be drawn out. Like they were when you were fighting with her earlier. You and I would be the best candidates for it because we wouldn't be permanently harmed by the spiritual energy if we get blasted."

"I don't know if I like that idea…" Kagome said quietly, thinking about what she had done to Inuyasha.

"Don't worry about it too much Kagome," Miroku soothed, "Inuyasha and Inukigo are at an advantage when it comes to dealing with individuals that possess spiritual powers. They can receive burns like the ones you gave to Inuyasha, but the worse possible thing that could happen to them would be for them to turn human."

"Turn human?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Yeah," Kouga supplied, "See, a full demon like me is at a big disadvantage when dealing with mikos or monks. If the spiritual energy is strong enough, then I could be "purified," meaning that I would die. But Inukigo and the pup are only half demon, so if that part of them is purified they still have their human forms to fall back on."

"Don't call me pup!" Inuyasha cried indignantly, though for the most part he was ignored.

"I think I get it. I guess that I could deal with that. I still don't like the idea of hurting either of you though…"

"It's not that serious," Kouga explained, then reached over and grabbed the hem of Inuyasha's shirt, pulling it up so his chest and abdomen could clearly be seen and drawing a startled 'hey' from the younger half demon, "See, he's already healing."

Kagome's face flushed as she got a full view of Inuyasha's - very nice, she thought - chest and abs. The look was not missed by the three older occupants of the kitchen. Kagome saw what Kouga meant though. It hadn't even been half an hour since she had blasted Inuyasha, but already the burns were healing.

Inuyasha grabbed his shirt from Kouga and pulled it down with a frown, though he was sporting a slight blush as well.

"Don't do that!"

"I don't think you should be so mad about it, Inuyasha," Miroku said with a smirk, "Kagome seemed to like the view."

Kagome was mortified and her face was on its way to resembling a tomato, and Inuyasha wasn't far behind her. Sango chose that moment to come down over the stairs with a towel over her head as she tried to rub the water out of her hair.

"What'd I miss?"

"Um…I think I'll take my shower now," Kagome said hurriedly as she took the opportunity to get away and ran for the stairs. She dashed by Sango, who just stared curiously as the younger girl ploughed up the stairs. She then looked at her boyfriend, who seemed to be trying far too hard not to laugh.

"Alright," she said with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face, "What did you do now Miroku?"

The man in question merely smiled.

"I just made a comment after seeing her face turn an interesting shade of red."

Sango raised an eyebrow in confusion, taking in the blush on Inuyasha's face. Inukigo saw that her brother was growing irritated and sighed.

"Kouga lifted Inuyasha's shirt so Kagome could see that the burns were healing. She got a bit flustered and of course the baka had to call her on it."

Sango rolled her eyes.

"When are you going to stop embarrassing the poor girl. Don't make me repeat our match."

Miroku blanched and raised his hands in defence.

"No worries."

"Good," she replied, then turned to Inukigo, "So, what have we got to eat?"

* * *

Later that night, after all showered and the junk food was spread around, Inukigo selected one of the movies they had rented earlier that day while out shopping and popped it into the DVD player. She joined her boyfriend in the oversized chair, curling up in his lap with a bowl of chips for the both of them resting on her own.

Kagome glanced at them from time to time with a smile on her face. She had known from the picture she had seen earlier that the two of them were very much in love. Seeing them curled up together in the chair only made it more apparent and Kagome could tell that they were much more interested in each other than in the movie they were watching. Inukigo's eyes were on the screen but she was resting fully against Kouga's body and looked like she could fall asleep at any moment. Her drowsy state was probably due to Kouga's hands, one of which was kneading her back while the other rubbed her leg.

Miroku and Sango had taken the couch, though they weren't quite as close as Inukigo and Kouga. Instead, Miroku was sitting at one end of the couch with Sango against his side with her head leaning on his shoulder. She had also brought her legs up and stretched them across the remaining space on the couch. Miroku had tried to slide his hand down to her backside, but a withering glare from Sango had him reconsidering and he settled for resting his hand on her waist instead.

Inuyasha and Kagome had piled pillows and blankets on the floor and settled down comfortably with chips and popcorn between them.

By the time the third movie was playing, Kagome was really the only person still giving the TV her full attention. Inuyasha had been shifting his attention from the movie to Kagome for some time, being careful not to linger on her for too long from fear that she would turn and see him looking at her. The other four adults in the room peered at the teenagers with barely open eyes, quickly pretending to be asleep whenever Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at them. Inukigo had the distinct impression that he was getting ready to make a move.

And she was right. Inuyasha was working up the courage to make a move on Kagome, and had been for quite awhile. It wasn't something he had planned to do tonight, but ever since the first movie had started playing he found that he couldn't stop himself from looking at her. He was careful to only look out of the corner of his eye, and to keep his glances short so his sister and the other adults sitting behind them wouldn't notice. But now they were all asleep (or so he thought) and he was in the clear. All he had to do was talk to her…easier said than done.

His mouth worked soundlessly a few times as he tried to think of something to say, and when he was just about to get something out, Kagome turned to look at him with a curious look on her face, effectively shutting him up.

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" She whispered, mindful of the "sleeping" adults. She had sensed his anxiety increase and was now a little worried about him.

A light blush spread across Inuyasha's cheeks, which he prayed Kagome couldn't see in the dim lighting of the living room.

"I'm fine. So, you have a good time?" He asked casually.

"Yeah…well, except for when I blasted you into the wall. Other than that it was great."

Inuyasha sighed and moved closer to her when she brought that up again.

"Like we've already told you; that wasn't your fault. You didn't know any more about your spiritual powers than we did, so how were any of us were supposed to know that they would be drawn out by my youki?"

"I know all that. I'm still sorry about it though. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You won't," Inuyasha reassured, "As long as you're not around any demons that don't have a good handle on their youki."

Kagome nodded, feeling a little better at his words.

"It's just unsettling, to know that there's this power inside me that I have no control over."

Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

"With Kaede's help you'll have control over it in no time. And Inukigo and I will be there to help you out too."

Kagome gave him a bright smile that had him blushing all over again.

"Thanks."

"K-keh. It's no big deal," he mumbled as he averted his gaze.

He sensed that she was still looking at him and he ducked his head as he spoke softly.

"Kagome?"

"Hm?" She replied, feeling his anxiety rise again.

"I-I was wondering…if you…would you…"

"Would I what?" She asked softly when he seemed to be tripping over his words.

"Would you…like to go out with me?"

Kagome's eyes widened as his nervousness finally made sense, then she beamed at him.

"I'd love to."

Inuyasha heaved a sigh of relief at her acceptance.

"Tomorrow?" He asked.

"Sure," Kagome replied with a nod, then she smiled again and leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, but his expression softened when he saw the warm smile Kagome was giving him and the blush on her cheeks. He returned the smile and before he really realized what he was doing he was leaning in and all his attention was focused on her lips. Kagome offered no resistance and he placed a soft, chaste kiss on her mouth. When he pulled away, Kagome had her eyes closed, but when she opened them she smiled widely before releasing a small giggle and flopping down on the pillows.

"What?" He asked, though there was humour in his voice, because he could tell from the look she was giving him that she wasn't laughing at him.

"That was my first kiss," she admitted sheepishly with a giggle as she tried to hide her face in the blankets and still look at him at the same time.

"Really?" Inuyasha asked, lowering himself down on the pillows as well so he was level with her.

"Yeah," she said shyly as she rolled on her side to face him, "I feel all giddy."

Inuyasha continued to smile at her, then it cracked into a grin.

"Well, can I give your second kiss too, then?"

Kagome drew her lower lip into her mouth as she considered it, then nodded and leaned forward to meet him. The kiss lasted longer this time and was nowhere near as chaste. Miroku and Kouga were dangerously close to cheering the young half demon on, but glares from Inukigo and Sango were motivation enough for them to remain silent and still.

When they pulled apart this time, they were a little short for breath but managed to smile at each other non the less.

"So," Inuyasha said, hoping to prevent an awkward moment, "Where do you want to go tomorrow?"

Kagome lay back down as she considered it, then shook her head.

"I don't know many of the places around here. Surprise me."

Inuyasha nodded, then noticed the movie menu playing on the television screen. He then checked the time.

"It's getting pretty late. We should all probably head to bed."

Kagome nodded her agreement as she yawned widely, then stood up as he did.

"What about them?" She asked, pointing to the four "sleeping" adults.

"You head on up, I'll worry about them."

"Okay," Kagome said, and she quietly walked out of the living room, "Goodnight, Inuyasha."

"Night," he replied as she disappeared around the corner.

Yawning himself, Inuyasha walked over to the chair where his sister was situated and started shaking her awake.

"Ooi, sis. Wake up, time to go to bed."

Inukigo made a very good show of moaning and grumbling about wanting to sleep, fooling Inuyasha as he continued to poke and prod at her. Finally, Inukigo brought the act to an end, faking a yawn and rubbing her eyes as she looked up at her brother.

"Hm? What time is it?"

"Nearly two."

Inukigo nodded, then waved him off.

"Go on, I'll wake the rest of them."

"Alright. Night, nee-chan."

"Good night, Inuyasha."

As soon as Inuyasha was up over the stairs the others opened their eyes and Kouga gave Inukigo a kiss on the temple.

"You'd make a wonderful actress, koi," he laughed.

Inukigo punched him lightly on the arm.

"Oh, shut up. Now, neither of you mention any of this at all," she said, standing up and pointing at the two males in the room, "Especially you," she added, glaring directly at Miroku, "You know how he'll get if you make fun of him. Kagome seems good for him, and I want him to be happy, so no interfering, understand?"

Both men nodded.

"Okay then," she found the remote and turned off the TV, then pulled Kouga to his feet, "Let's go to bed. I really do want to go to sleep."

The others agreed with her, and together the four of them trudged tiredly up the stairs and went to their respective bedrooms.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome woke to someone gently shaking her shoulder and whispering her name. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw kind golden ones looking back at her, and the owner of those eyes smiled warmly at her.

"Good morning, Kagome."

"Morning, Inukigo," Kagome replied with a yawn as she sat up.

"Sorry for waking you up," Inukigo apologized, "But Kaede just called and said she'd be here in about an hour. I thought that you might want to get ready."

"Thanks," Kagome replied, carefully getting out of the bed so as not to disturb Sango.

"Oh, don't worry about waking her up," Inukigo laughed, "I'm going to get her out of bed now too so everyone will be up for breakfast. Kouga is waking up Miroku and Inuyasha."

Kagome giggled and took a clean change of clothes, her tooth brush, and toothpaste with her to the bathroom. She decided to forgo the shower, since she had one the night before and would rather wait until evening when she was getting ready for her date with Inuyasha. She blushed when she remembered the kisses they had shared then giggled to herself in happiness.

When she finished in the bathroom and had returned her things to her room, she headed downstairs and found everyone at the table waiting eagerly for Inukigo to finish making breakfast.

"Morning everyone," she greeted as she came to the table.

A chorus of 'good mornings' was her reply, while Inukigo waved over her shoulder.

"It smells great Inukigo," Kagome complimented, "Do you need any help?"

"No thanks Kagome, I'm almost done," she replied as she concentrated on finishing up a rolled omelette.

There was a pot of miso soup ready to be poured into bowls, the rice cooker was on, and the smells of grilled fish and fried eggs wafted through the entire first floor of the house. Tenchi was wandering around Inukigo's feet, apparently not above begging for some of the delicious smelling food, but Inukigo walked around her so effortlessly it was as if the dog wasn't even there. When she declared it finished, the rice and miso were spooned out into separate bowls for each person, and the fish and omelette were laid out on their own plates on the table. Before sitting down herself, Inukigo went to the fridge and pulled out a fairly large dish of pickled cucumber and placed that on the table as well. As soon as she sat down everyone said a quick 'itadakimasu' and dug in.

"This is really good Inukigo," Kagome commented in between bites.

"Thanks. I love cooking traditional breakfast, since we really only have time for American style breakfasts during the week. Inuyasha is a good cook too though, we'll see if there's enough time for him to cook lunch like I said he would."

"Nee-san…" Inuyasha complained as his face turned red.

"You're going to cook for us Inuyasha?" Sango exclaimed, "What are you going to make?"

"I don't know," he grumbled as he continued to eat.

"Can you make tempura? I love your homemade batter."

"Yeah, whatever."

Inukigo rolled her eyes at her brother's embarrassment.

"Is tempura alright with you, Kagome?"

"Tempura sounds great."

The rest of the meal passed without any more attention being drawn towards Inuyasha's cooking skills, much to his relief. It was when the dishes were being washed that the demons of the group heard a car door slam outside.

"That's probably Kaede," Inukigo commented as she put down the dish towel she had been using and went to the front door to greet the old woman.

Kagome took a deep breath and prepared herself for the miko's arrival.

"Hey," Inuyasha said, having sensed her anxiety, "Don't worry. Kaede's a bit of an old hag, but she's alright. She's a great teacher, you'll do fine with her."

"Such a backhanded compliment could only come from your mouth, Inuyasha."

The two teens looked up at the new voice and Kagome blushed. Inukigo was standing in the entryway, her arms crossed as she glared at her younger brother, and beside her was a hunched old woman, probably the same age as her grandfather, who was nearly two feet shorter than the female hanyou.

Inuyasha seemed unconcerned and shrugged.

"How's it going, Kaede-baba?"

Kagome's eyes widened and Inukigo did not look impressed.

"Inuyasha…" she growled in warning.

"It's quite alright my dear," Kaede said with an amused lilt in her voice, "I know you've done your best to teach the boy to respect his elders, but he is clearly a lost cause," she ignored Inuyasha's pout and instead focused on the teenage girl beside him, who became uncomfortable with the scrutiny, "My, Inukigo…you were right, that is quite an impressive aura," she looked up and smiled ruefully, "This is going to be a challenge."

* * *

Okay, this took soooo much longer than I thought it would (as always). School over the last six weeks was hectic…had so much work to do…anyways, I'm finished for the summer now, so I should have plenty of time to work on my stories, and hopefully get at least All Things Come Full Circle finished (not making any promises, but that's what I'm aiming for). I'll try to have the next chapter for Full Circle up in the next little while…sorry for the wait everyone! 


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